rise of darkness
by calypso.felicity
Summary: Harry wasn't an only child.He had a brother.Harry was declared squib.On the fateful night of Halloween when Voldemort attacked,his brother is declared the boy who lived.Harry grows up being neglected. see how he grows in potter house hold... Dark harry!
1. 01 beginning

**Disclaimer:**As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R

only some of the plots are mine.

on with the story!

**Chapter 1 - beginning**

Night had fallen. And the sky was getting darker .Lily Potter was sitting on a luxurious sofa in front of a fireplace in her living room, when fires suddenly turned green and a handsome man with jet-black messy hair and brown eyes stepped out of it.

He stared in her green eyes, which had concern evident in them. She rushed to him and engulfed him in a bear hug. She kept her head buried in his chest. These were times of war and there was no certainty of anyone returning home safe and sound or even alive for that matter. He returned the hug and lightly kissed the top of her head. Once her heart was settled, she looked up in his brown eyes which reflected the love they had for each other. She smiled at him. He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and lightly kissed her on her lips.

"Get fresh James, I'll have dinner served when you come down to kitchen." said Lily while extracting herself from his embrace. She turned towards kitchen and started to move, her bright red hair bellowing behind her and swaying her hips slightly.

James stared at her retreating form for a while before turning towards stairs on the left hand side and up towards the first floor where there was his and Lily's king sized bedroom with a king sized bed and a private bathroom. There were other rooms as well but most of them were unused except a few which they used when Sirius, Remus and Peter - his best friends would come for a visit. They would always stay there for some duration.

James came in the kitchen after having freshened up. He passed a few portraits of some people who were apparently snoring in their portraits. When he saw Lily they smiled at each other.

"Frodo!" called out Lily.

Out of thin air a creature with big eyes like a golf ball and ears like that of an elephant popped in out of thin air making a barely audible sound. It wore a gown of sorts and the cloth had a symbol of a shield half buried in a thick black rock.

"What can Frodo be doing mistress Lily?" it asked.

Now any normal human would have been surprised and probably jumped a few feet in the air at such a sudden appearance of a creature like this. But not these people. They were wizards and witches, living in a magical community. It was hidden in plain side from prying eyes of muggles. Muggles is a term used to indicate the non-magical. These people could bend and break the rules of nature with a wave of a stick which they called as wand.

Not all were born in the culture of magic. Some were muggleborns. They were those who were born to people without magic. There were purebloods as well. These were people who were born in families which had produced magical children for generations and had magical blood flowing in them. Most of the muggles and muggleborns accepted it but were very reluctant to do so. Their beliefs and what they have learned in their life as muggle being shattered. When they know of being magical but still they try to apply their logic and values in this world. And that was one of the reasons why purebloods hated muggleborns. Lily was a muggleborn but James on the other hand was a pureblood. His family line could be traced back to the 800s. James had chosen a career of an auror which was police equivalent of muggles. Not many muggles knew of this world. Those who knew were usually directly related to muggleborns. There was a law in magical world called as 'statute of secrecy'. Every muggleborn has to abide to this rule.

But that did not mean that they necessarily did so.

Muggles were afraid of anything they couldn't comprehend. Lily s family although quite reluctantly but still had accepted magical world as a part of their daughter. But her sister on the other hand didn't like it. Tuny, as she used to call her sister was jealous of her. After death of her father, they had met only once and even then petunia had called her 'freak' and they had never met again. It was a sad truth.

There were squibs as well. These were those people who were born in magical families but did not have enough magic in them to perform any of its feats. Squibs were frowned upon in this world but muggleborns were still frowned more because unlike the squibs they were not raised with the traditions of this world and always wanted to change it to suit their own beliefs and needs.

Then there were blood-traitors those who supported muggleborns and disregarded their own heritage. They were ready to forget the blood of their ancestors which flowed in their veins. But it was all a belief of some families which were old and considered dark and evil. And as the things would go, lily was a muggleborn and wasn't going to consider herself lower than anyone else and although she accepted traditions of this world albeit reluctantly, she still considered her old morals and applied them here.

James had fallen in love with her and he had enough power to keep mouths of most of the magical populace shut. But alas, this war was going between the two factions of pureblood supremacy and support for muggleborns.

"Please serve the dinner Frodo, we are ready for dinner" Lily said.

"Yes mistress Lily, right away!" the thing called Frodo or an elf, as its species was known, popped out just as it came.

After a while Frodo popped in and served them dinner and vanished after giving them a deep bow and Lily had thanked it. Lily and James started to have a quiet dinner.

After a while Lily said "how was your day?"

"Not much today. But got a visit from headmaster himself." James frowned a bit at this part but continued "Said he wants to meet us both along with longbottoms in his office by tomorrow noon. Looked like it was urgent." James said with a serious face. Silence stretched for a few moments and was broken by Lily,

"What could be so urgent that he came to you in department itself?" she asked.

"Maybe about another attack information, but cannot be sure. You cannot be sure when it comes to him." He replied.

"I am starting to have a bad feeling about this James." Lily said with concern evident in her voice.

James placed his hand over hers, in a comforting manner and said "Don't worry it'll be all right."

He gave her a small smile, which she returned although not as confident as she wanted to show due to her gut feelings. After finishing their remaining dinner in comfortable silence they retired for the day to their room.


	2. 02 an interesting interview

**Disclaimer**: As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R

only some of the plots are mine.

on with the story!

**Chapter 2 - An Interesting Interview**

Next day Lily and James woke up early. Sun wasn't much High in the sky. They started to prepare for the day. After a quick bath enjoying together they got ready for lunch. Then they descended to their kitchen.

Lily called "Frodo!"

The tiny elf popped into existence and asked with a deep bow "What can Frodo be doing for mistress Lily?" he asked.

Lily said "Please serve us some light lunch."

Frodo popped out saying "right away mistress Lily."

In another few moments their lunch was in front of them. They had pumpkin juice along with some roasted beef and bread. Soon they were done with their lunch and were ready to leave for Hogwarts. At 12:40 they switched their cloths from casuals to formals. James chose a red and yellow robe with gold trimmings while Lily chose to dress in muggle attire of blue jeans and pink top with long sleeves. It was a matter of a swish of their wand and a few muttered words to style their hair and all the things. Then they turned towards their fireplace. James swished his wand up and then twirled right while saying "activate" and a light yellow beam of energy shot out of it and connected with the cup above the fireplace. It glowed yellow for a moment and then became normal. Lily then first picked some sand of sorts which was called as flu powder . She then proceeded to throw it into the fireplace. Flames in the fireplace turned green. Lily then entered the fireplace and shouted "Hogwarts headmaster s office!" And with that she vanished in a burst of flames. James followed suit.

They appeared while walking out of another fireplace one behind the other. It was a medium sized room with a throne like chair on the right hand side of the fireplace and a door on the left. The walls on all the sides were filled with different types of objects; trinklets etc. there were two people already occupying the seats in front of the headmaster. The occupants of the room turned to them. Longbottoms greeted Lily and James. Headmaster Dumbledore offered them lemon drops his favorite muggle sweets. But both of them politely refused.

"How is it going for you Alice?" James asked. Both Alice and Lily were getting closer to their motherhood.

"Pretty good James. Thank you for asking." Alice replied then turned to Lily and asked "How is it going for you Lily?"

"Pretty good, although I get hungry ever so often due to having twins to feed" Lily replied while slowly caressing her stomach and a fond and excited smile on her face.

Both men looked at each other with knowing and happy smiles. Then they turned to Dumbledore who was watching all the exchange with his blue eyes twinkling and a grandfatherly smile on his face. After having a small chat Dumbledore s face became serious and all the four occupants looked at him with expectant eyes.

"Alas we must come to the reason why I have called you here." He said while popping a Lemon Drop in his mouth. Everyone nodded in seriousness.

Then he started "Yesterday, I went to take interview of Miss Sybill Trelawney."

Flash back ...

Dumbledore was not having a good day. His deputy was currently busy and he had to take interview of Miss Trelawney. He still didn't have a teacher for his defense against the dark arts class. He sighed once again. Today was turning out to be a very boring day. Even dark lord Voldemort was strangely quiet for some time there has not been an attack since last week. But obviously it was the calm before a storm.

Something was definitely going to cause him a headache. He just knew it. He sighed and looked at the letter in his hand. It was from Miss Trelawney, asking for the job of divination professor in Hogwarts. Dumbledore, defeater of last dark lord Grindelwald, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme mugwup of ICW (International Confederation of Wizards), winner of order of Merlin 2nd class for his defeat of Grindelwald and an order of Merlin 3rd class for his discovery of 12 uses of dragon blood, apprentice of famed sorcerer Nicholas Flamel, sighed once more.

Deciding that he could as well get some fresh air, he chose Hogshead as their meeting place. He quickly wrote a reply for interview timing and place. He walked towards the door which promptly opened and he stepped on the spiraling staircase. After getting out of the staircase, the gargoyle on right side came in front of it like a guardian, which it was and without a password one couldn't get access to the staircase bar the headmaster himself. Dumbledore started to walk at a leisurely pace. Halls and corridors of the school were quiet as vacations were still not over and students had yet to return.

He absently walked down the seventh floor corridor and took a left and continued to walk. He soon reached the owlery where school post owls were kept. There were many 100s if not thousands. He reached for one owl who hopped on his outstretched hand. It strongly resembled an eagle. It was a magical breed of owls known as eagle-owl. He tied the letter to its leg and let it take-off in the sky. Albus kept looking at the bird till it was but a dot then strode back to his office.

In evening, when the interview was scheduled, Dumbledore vanished with a small pop from his office and appeared in an alley-way. He then started to walk at a brisk speed. People would greet him whenever they saw him.

Most of the magical populace of London has grown under his watchful eyes, influenced by him. It was a proper base for him to get followers, imprinting his beliefs and thoughts on younger generation, while they were still easy to mold.

But not all of them were easy to mold. Those from darker families were difficult to mold. He had only successfully turned a few of them on his side. He couldn't directly do anything, as even though he could easily use mind control spells, it wouldn't be wise to do so. Because even though he was respected for his power, if he was found out then it would be a disaster. Dark families were unfortunately for him, most of the influential families in Britain and were well connected throughout the world due to their marrying in pureblood families.

He had spread half-truths that blood didn't really matter except for the fact that it showed your riches. But of course he did it all slowly and discretely not wanting to take the full wrath of darker families. His position in those times was delicate. And even though he was a sorcerer even he couldn't take dozens of mages together if it was an all-out war. He was young unfortunately most of the people from these families were class C wizards and witches or sometimes even mages and sorcerers and had quiet the experience and skills to support their positions.

He remembered his days as a young boy when there were 7 sorcerers in Britain itself. 2 of them were firmly of light beliefs. Although they all were well versed in dark magic as well, they didn't use it and they respected the traditions and also welcomed new blood. 2 were neutral who supported traditions firmly but were indifferent about muggleborns. 3 were from dark bloodlines who stuck to traditions and considered muggleborns a threat... his musings of the past were interrupted when he reached hogshead.

He turned to the bartender of the inn.

"How are you, Aberforth?" he asked with an approaching smile.

The man in question looked a lot like him. Long white hair and beard. A pair of glasses on his crooked nose. Wrinkled face. Same blue eyes but a shade lighter than Albus. He was Albus s brother.

Aberforth nodded curtly and said "fine Albus, your guest is waiting in room 12."

Albus nodded in thanks and turned towards the stairs. He walked up the stairs and turned left and entered the room with a knock, all too familiar with the rooms. A women with sandy brown hair and dazzling yellow eyes and skin of very light shade of brown and a petite figure was sitting on a sofa wearing expensive black sleeveless robe with a trim of silver at the edges of the dress.

"Good afternoon headmaster, it's been a long time, I hope you remember me?" she said with a pleasant smile on her face.

Albus smiled his grandfatherly smile "Of course, Miss Trelawney. I remember you passed your NEWT s with E s in every subject bar divination in which you scored an O. Batch of 1974." He replied.

He knew that the women possessed good skills in divination. She was descendant of Cassandra Trelawney, one of the 7 true seers in Britain till now. So it was not a surprise that the girl possessed the gift partially if not completely. She was also one of the powerful and influential people in England. And she was well with Dumbledore in beliefs. Not really knowing that her being weak was due to marriages with muggleborns in her family. Thus believing that power doesn't really depend on blood. But that didn't mean she was any less useful than other purebloods.

They then had some tea and bargained over her salary and her living arrangements in Hogwarts.

But unknown to them there was an eavesdropper listening to this conversation. This eavesdropper had greasy hair which always smelled of some or the other thing. His hooked type of nose was what made his egg shaped face look quiet horrific. His silvery grey eyes were always glaring at some or the other thing. He was one of the most accomplished potions makers in the world. And by no means was he a slouch in dueling. That is why he was one of the inner circle of 'death eaters' as the group of the fighters who fought to regain the honor of what is lost to time. The magic of their ancestors which was now banned by 'ministry of magic' deeming it as dark and dangerous. He kept close to the door and could easily hear then speaking due to his enhanced hearing. It was done by their lord in parseltounge - language of snakes.

Dumbledore was head of a group called 'order of the phoenix'. It was created by Dumbledore during the time of last dark lord Grindelwald as a resistance group. It was disbanded once the threat was over. And now it was active once more because of his master Lord Voldemort the new dark lord. He had caused havoc and fear in the hearts of blood-traitors and muggleborns so much that many of the later had ran away to their old world. He had joined 'Death Eaters' because it offered him power and glory.

But some things even he couldn't do like hiding from a sorcerer. He had remained hidden so far because of his master s spells but they were going to fade off soon and he was annoyed that his master had sent him to eavesdrop on this interview of all things. His master had a feeling that this was important but how he didn't know.

By now he was getting annoyed all these two were talking were of no consequence to his master, like his master would care for what salary Sybill got. He suppressed a snort not wanting to be caught. But then the women abruptly stopped midsentence. And he heard a gasp surely from Dumbledore he thought. He stretched his ears to listen carefully.

Inside of the room Albus was debating over money issues with Sybill when her body suddenly stiffened and she became rigid Albus gasped as he guessed what he was witnessing, it was a sign of a true prophecy being spoken. Her eyes glazed over showing only white. Wind started to pick slowly around Sybill. Her hair started to turn golden and her glazed eyes turned black. Her hand shot upward faster than Dumbledore thought the women was possible of moving. Her hand got a pinkish glow.

And she started to speak..."


	3. 03 prophecy revealed

**Disclaimer:**As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R

only some of the plots are mine.

on with the story!

**Chapter 3-Prophecy Revealed**

"One with power to rule approaches ...

Defying the laws of magic set in the world ...

With powers not known to many of this world ...

Grown in betrayal by his own ...

With three of his most loyal on his side ...

And one he will grant fire of hells ...

He will unite his kind and wage war ...

One with the power to rule approaches ...

Born to the blood of great lords ...

Born as the seventh month dies ..."

As soon as the last word was spoken Sybilll started to lower to her seat and the wind to die down. Her glow started to recede and her eyes started becoming normal again. All was over in less than 10 minutes. Sybilll started her argument "I'll take 1500 gallons 37 sickles no less Albus." Albus nodded absently, his mind going through the possibilities of what this prophecy may mean and how it could affect the war.

"Ok then Albus, show me the papers and I'll sign the contract." She said.

"Of course" he replied, frowning inside as he had forgotten about Sybilll and the contract and absently accepted her demand. But he had no time as he heard some-ones scramming. His battle honed skills and sharp ears making him aware of it. He quickly turned but could see nothing. In an instant he had his wand in hand and he started to cast detection spells over the room. But he got nothing.

Sybilll was looking at Albus and had just asked about the contract when he suddenly got tense and in a blink of an eye, he had his wand in hand and was casting with speed that she could only dream of. She became concerned when he started to frown.

"What is wrong Albus?" she asked with concern.

"It seems that someone was here and eavesdropping on our conversation." He said.

"What! But how could anyone have hidden themselves for so long? Especially in your presence!" she exclaimed in alarm.

"Alas, whoever it was has already run away." He said somberly.

He turned to her and seriously looked in her eyes. His trademark twinkling was absent. "It would be good for you if you moved into Hogwarts as soon as possible. Right now if you can come with me." He said.

Sybilll thought over what options she had. 'I could go home and then get back to Hogwarts. But if I was the target of the coming attack... then it would be foolish. Whoever it was did not do anything simply because Dumbledore was here. My things could be moved by Thema. So I would rather go with Albus now rather than later.' She thought. Deciding over the course of action she nodded to herself.

"Ok Albus, I will come with u now only. But my house elf will have to be permitted entry so that she can bring my things over." She said to the wizened old headmaster.

"That can be arranged." Albus said while removing a scroll from his purple long robe which had stars on it. He gave it to Sybilll and she quickly signed it.

They quickly gathered their bearings and strode to the outside of the inn and proceeded to apparate to Hogwarts while bidding a hasty good-bye to Aberforth who when asked had said that he saw no-one.

Severus Snape was in a daze. One moment he was getting bored out of his mind and the next, he was hearing a true prophecy. He remembered the prophecy word to word, thanks due to his brilliance in occlumency. It was a form of mind magic which led you towards a brilliant recalling ability and protection from those who might try and raid your mind for information.

He was so very scared when Dumbledore had tensed up he knew right then that his slight movement made for the escape was noticed. He quickly pulled out his portkey (an object which let you go from one place to another) and he vanished just in time to see through a slit gap in the door that Dumbledore was throwing detection spells over the door.

Flash back ends….

Dumbledore was sitting on his throne like chair by the end of explanation his face solemn and hands clasping each other on the desk. He moved his right hand and rubbed his beard. He of course didn't tell them anything about his musings and other things that he did.

"N-no. It can't be! Our children are not even born yet! And how could you be so sure that it will happen. She isn't even a full seer!" Lily broke the silence with her shouts. She was hysterical. She kept on repeating "no-no" her voice now muffled by her sobs. James was trying to comfort his sobbing and hysterical wife. He took her head gently with his arms and let her cry in his shoulder. He kept mumbling nonchalantly in her ears, trying to comfort her.

Alice was much better of the two women. She didn't completely lose her composure but even she had tears rolling down her eyes.

Both Lily and Alice were Healers and were working at St. Mungose magical hospital. Both had studied divination and knew that whoever was mentioned in prophecy was going to be born to someone in Britain, as the prophecy was spoken in native English of Britain. And they already knew that there were only four child births in month of July and only the two of them had lines of greater lords. 3 lords of Longbottoms being sorcerers and potter line having over 7 sorcerers till now.

Frank was holding her hand tightly giving her his support while he himself was scared out of his wits. Knowing that your child would be a part of some grand scheme in which some dark lord might be behind him as the eavesdropper present there might very well be a part of dark lord s circle.

"This is a sad truth. But a truth none - the - less." Albus said. He rose from his seat, shaking his head, looking at the floor. Then he looked at the four occupants in the room.

"It would be best if you all went into hiding." He said after a moment.

All four occupants of his office nodded in agreement.

"it would be futile to leave country as even Voldemort-" everyone flinches at the use of dark lord s name -"must be aware by now if it was indeed one of his followers, then he must have started to keep tabs on people. One day for a person like him is enough time. He has probably gotten the information that it's going to be one of your children who is the main chosen of this prophecy. He must want him on his side or he would try to destroy this child before it becomes a threat." said Dumbledore.

"I would suggest going under fedilius charm. It is the safest way to ensure your safety." He said after a while.

"But headmaster, our ancestral manors would be much safer with the numerous protections. But fedilius can't be cast over such a wide area." Frank said for the first time after revelation of the prophecy.

"Yes, so you will need to check for smaller keeping tab on your actions in your ancestral homes would be far easy be far easy and one loose moment is all that he'll need. Thus fedilius would be best. I will cast the charm myself, as it would require a lot of magic to be cast by one person. But even if it's a small place, I would be dispatched for the remainder of the day." Dumbledore said.

So I suggest that you do the preliminary preparations for both the families." He said looking at Lily. She was considered one of the best in charms in her time and could "prepare basic rune set for fedilius without much difficulty in 2-3 days.

Lily nodded meekly, not really having any other choice. Thinking that Dumbledore has the best of intentions, being lured by his grandfatherly appearance, just like many others.

"Good then we will meet here after 2 days for casting over potter residence and the next day for Longbottom residence." Have your secret keepers selected and places which you'd like to hide. Don t worry something good will come out of it." He said with a smile on his wrinkled old face and his twinkle back in his eyes.

Both families bid good bye to each-other and headmaster. Once the families were out of his office Dumbledore sat on his chair grandly. With a mad glint in his eyes that no-one living had seen bar his friend.

He started to think how well his plan had gone. He started to go through the events of the last day.

Flashback ….

After settling Sybilll in her room in astronomy tower, he had started to think over what this possibly may entail. If he could get his hands over the main character of the prophecy, then world would be his! He could capture the world by remaining in background. Let the prophesied one battle his battles and take credit for it. If needed he could make people turn on this child and take him out somehow and be the hero once more. If this child was going to grant someone fire of hell, then his power can only be above any one they have ever seen.

He started to find what exactly it may mean. Someone with powers very high was going to be born. The birth would be by the time July would be almost finished. There will be three others as well. Four maybe. It was an uncertainty in this prophecy. If this chosen-one, whoever it was, if he gives this power to someone other than these other three. Then there will be four other than the main character. And if given to one of the three, then it will be three only. He would be betrayed by those close to him. He will defy fate by somehow defying the laws of magic.

There were only four rules in magic. One: cannot create food. Two: dead cannot truly be revived. Three: Unforgivable are impossible to block in a direct hit. Four: one cannot have multiple or magical animagus forms.

So this child would presumably be able to do one of these. Conjuring gold was although possible it was not permanent. And only someone at the level of a sorcerer can do that as it required a lot of power and skill that only a few possessed. And it was still a possible feat, thus not included as a rule.

This child would be born in line of greater lords. So it was easy to narrow down the suspected families list. Nodding to himself he reached the flu network and threw some flu powder in the fireplace.

"St. Mungose Hospital!" he shouted after stepping inside the fireplace.

He disappeared in a flash of green flames. When he reappeared out of another fireplace, walking out of it, he was in a big institute. It was always busy. He strode towards left and started climbing the stairs. When he reached up, he turned toward left and walked in a room nocking once on it. It was a medium sized room. It had some stacks filled with parchments. In the middle of the room was a desk and behind it sat a lady. The only odd-ball of the Black family, Andromeda Tonks. She had married a muggleborn and was blasted out of family, disowned. She had lost a chunk of her magic due to this. Being magically disowned meant that you don t deserve to get magic of your ancestors which is a great dishonor. There has not been a true lord black since Arctus Black had died. Her grandfather. He was a very powerful man and one of the seven sorcerers of his time. People were both feared and awed by his powers. They said that he was a shape shifter and could perform magic while transformed. You wouldn't know what hit you before you were dead. Even other sorcerers didn't cross his way.

After going through the small information of head healer (head doctor), Dumbledore turned toward the women in question. She was attractive but not overly so. Probably due to loss of her inheritance, she had lost the beauty that was in every Black female. She had silvery blond hairs cascading down her back and had the trademark violet eyes of every Black woman. Her face structure was aristocratic like any other pureblood. But she didn't have the reserved nature in her eyes.

"What a pleasant surprise headmaster Dumbledore, I was not expecting you here. Anything of importance?" she asked.

"Yes indeed my dear, yes indeed." He said.

Andromeda was a member of his order of the phoenix and thus getting information from her was not difficult.

"I need to know how many families are expecting children by the end of July month." He said.

"Why headmaster?" she asked, confused why headmaster would need to know such information.

"Alas, I cannot tell you the reason, but it is of utmost importance. I hope you do trust me with this information." He said while shaking his head and then directly looking into her eyes with his twinkling eyes.

"O-of course." She said. "I understand. Whatever it is must be important." She added while she started to look through stacks of parchments while moving her wand and muttering under her breath. Finally after 10 minutes of waiting a parchment flew in his direction, which he deftly caught.

It had names of four families on it. Longbottoms, Potters, Macllagans, Fawcetts. Only two of these houses had lines of greater lords. Potters and Longbottoms.

His mind was in overdrive. He started to think furiously. He had to know who the main child of prophecy was. Then he had to make sure that child stayed in light. Firmly. For that he would need to stage everything up. Voldemort was sure to already know of the prophecy by now. And a master plan started to form in his twisted mind. Nodding to himself, he bid a good-bye to Andromeda.

After coming out of the hospital, he apparated to outskirts of Hogwarts. Walking slowly inside the grand castle, he started to think over his master plan. It was easy. He would need to convince Potters and Longbottoms to undergo fedilius. Potters would obviously choose black as their secret keeper. Longbottoms would choose Cornard as their secret keeper as he was a close friend. It was highly unlikely that someone else would be chosen. If he wanted to find out the chosen, then he would need to give an opening to Voldemort, to attack these families.

He would have to take Sirius out of the picture as he was too stubborn to give out the secret. But Peter on the other hand was a part of Voldemort s circle. Yes he was aware of it. One didn't survive so long in politics and battles without having proper information. He was a master legillmens. A mind magic which let him peek through memories of others. If mastered well, one could plant false memories and emotions in other's minds. He was a master occlumence as well. He knew that Peter was of no use to Voldemort as he was weak in every sense of the word. He was an animagus and that was only due to sheer luck to have such a gift and James and Sirius dragging him through the process. Thus he knew that Peter would be a better opening. Letting Peter be the secret keeper would be best option.

So he sent a message through his phoenix pendant to Sirius and called him, asking to come discreetly. When Sirius came inside, he asked "Did anyone saw you coming here Sirius?"

"No headmaster, why?" said Sirius. But before he could say anything else, Dumbledore had cast a silent 'stupefy' on him and then quickly cast a 'confundus' charm making Sirius believe that making Peter secret keeper would be a better choice. Thus he would persuade Potters to make Peter their secret keeper. Then he oblivated Sirius of last five minutes and made him think that he had hit his head on his bed s headboard and had an concussion thus not remembering last five minutes while he made the confundus time delayed so that it would activate when the subject of secret keeper was brought out. He sent Sirius back through flu and sat back on his chair.

'He couldn't have Sirius babbling about secret keeper before he was supposedly told, now could he?' he thought to himself amusedly. Cornard wasn't a problem as the man was not much compared to Sirius. Whereas Sirius didn't have a family, Cornard did. And he would give away the secret to save his family. Or maybe some torture would do the trick. It was all for the 'Greater Good' after all ...


	4. 04 dark lord's plans

**Disclaimer**: As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R

only some of the plots are mine. Thank you for the reviews as well and adding this to story alerts and fav. story. some have added me to fav. authors thank you to them sincerely!

on with the story!

**Chapter 4: Dark Lord's Plans**

When Severus Snape appeared again, he was in a dark and gloomy place. Although time of the day was evening, it always appeared to be night here. Snape started to walk towards gates that he could see in distance. There were many traps spread here which not many even knew of. And Snape definitely didn't want to know about them. As it would definitely mean a painful death.

He kept walking at a brisk speed. He would always feel a burning sensation in his mark, meaning he was recognized by the wards surrounding whatever place it was. Although there were rumors that it was castle Slytherin. But they were rumors and couldn't be trusted. Then again their lord was heir of Slytherin, so it was completely possible. He neared a high stone wall. It was bare bar a cavity in the lower middle part of the wall. He lifted his left hand up and inserted his left forearm inside.

Nothing happened for a while. Then the wall started to shimmer and in another moment it was completely gone. It revealed a long hallway. There were many different passage ways attached to it. He started to walk straight and took third left. Then there was again a set of turns. After going through a number of them, he finally arrived in front of a doorway which was guarded by two men. Their faces hooded. As always. He wasn't sure if they were even alive or were inferies.

"I need an emergency audience with our lord. It is of utmost importance." he said.

One of them turned towards the door and indicated towards a cavity in the right side. He inserted his left hand forearm inside again. He felt an itch in his mark and he removed it out of the cavity. He took the sleeve of his left hand forearm up till he was waiting. It revealed a black tattoo. It was a snake coming out of a skulls mouth. Snake seemed to be moving on his skin.

After a while of waiting outside the doors, summons came. The guards moved on both sides as the doors started to fold on themselves. His path was clear. He started to walk inside. It was a large room. More like a hallway. He could feel stares from three sets of eyes, watching his every move. He quickly turned his expressions indifferent. His occlumency lowered only to his most guarded memories, so that the dark lord could test his truthfulness. Lord Voldemort was sitting on his throne. One person on his both side. One was a woman on the right side and other was a man on the left side. Women as everyone already knew her as Bellatrix Lestrange. She was slim and had a beautiful figure. One would never consider her as the most feared death eater and dismiss her for the regel pureblood wife s of other death eaters if not for the aura of power that she exuded and the dark glint in her eyes which showed pain for anyone who may come in her path. Her dark blue eyes always amused and probably thinking of new ways of torture and her lips always in a twisted smile. Only her husband and brother in law dared get close to her. The man on the other hand was muscular although not overly so, but this man was known for his brutal ways for breaking someone's spirits. His dark brown eyes cold and unforgiving. Antonin Dolovov. He was well known for his skills with and without a wand. These two were dark lord s favorite and said to be trained personally by him. No other death eater could match these two. There were rumors that once someone had tried to grab Bella s hand for ignoring his call and had called her a whore. The man s body was incinerated in the middle of the gathering of the death eaters. After being torn in parts, his body was burned right there. And some one had challenged Dolovov during a training session; they wanted to know why he was so close to dark lord instead of other purebloods who were higher in status in society. The runt who had challenged him was beaten him even without removing a wand. These two people sent shivers down his spine almost as much the dark lord did.

When he reached the raised platform, he bent down on one knee.

"My Lord" he said without looking up.

"Rise Severus." Voldemort said.

After hearing his master s command, he quickly rose to his feet.

"Why did you require an emergency meeting with me? Did anything happen during the interview?" Voldemort asked, his tone not showing his curiosity in the slightest.

"Indeed, my Lord. Snape started to speak. I heard a prophecy. I was not expecting that at all." He said and pulled the memory of the incident from his head with the tip of his wand.

He conjured a vial and put his memory inside it. He then bent on one knee and presented it to Voldemort. Voldemort indicated for Bellatrix to take it.

Bellatrix, who was on Voldemort s right side, moved forward and delicately took it and put it in her robe.

She then moved back to her previous position.

"You may leave Severus, you have done well. You will be rewarded appropriately." Voldemort spoke in his raspy hiss-like voice.

"I live to serve, my Lord." Snape said and rose from his position. He left with one last bow.

Voldemort then summoned his pensive with a lazy flick of his wand while

he conjured a table wandlessly with a wave of his hand. In less than a second a bowl came in rushing in air twisting and turning through the passageways. Then Voldemort turned his wand towards the table, where the pensive landed softly with a small noise of clattering.

He then indicated towards Bella, who silently stepped ahead and removed the vial from her robe and dropped the silvery substance which it contained in the liquid of the bowl. The silvery substance which was dropped in the liquid, which was crystal clear like pure water, was Snape s memory.

"You may join me." he said rising from his seat. And then he touched the surface of water and disappeared in the bowl. Both Bella and Antonin followed behind.

In less than three minutes they emerged from the bowl, seemingly not wet

even after coming out of the liquid.

After a while of silence, Voldemort spoke, "What are your thoughts?"

While giving his permission to speak.

Then there was a silence for another few minutes before it was broken.

"One with power to rule approaches ...

Defying the laws of magic set in the world ...

With powers not known to many of this world ...

Grown in betrayal by his own ...

With three of his most loyal on his side ...

And one he will grant fire of hells ...

He will unite his kind and wage war ...

One with the power to rule approaches ...

Born to the blood of great lords ...

Born as the seventh month dies ..."

Bella recited the words of the prophecy. Her eyes now a bright shade of purple.

"I think, this is a child yet to be born. This child will have powers that very few living are aware of. Which means, he would rival or even surpass powers of most those are known, living or dead. He would either survive killing curse or truly bring back the dead in the living. He will be born as the seventh month dies, i.e. 31st July. Everything else is uncertain. Like the other four in the prophecy. Those he will mostly rely on. It is also not an assured that he will be a human. For all that we might know, it would be someone of some other race waging war against wizards. Now I am not sure of the gifting part of flames of hell. One can only pass some powers through blood rituals. But I have not heard of passing of a specific gift." She completed her analysis with these words.

After a while of contemplation Voldemort tilted his head towards Antonin. Indicating that he may speak.

"Almost same thoughts as Bella, my lord but I think he will probably be a human as there has not been a prophecy made by a human, who doesn t have a human as a main character. But I may be wrong as a non-human main character would also mean breaking of the law if what I said before was true. Betrayal may happen in many ways. But I might say that is from family." Antonin finished his own analysis.

Voldemort thought over with an amused smile. What Antonin had said was something that contradicted with itself. He rose from his seat and started to walk down the platform. His faithful followers following just behind him. "hmm. I tried to find any mislead in the memory but found none. Something like this should not be taken lightly. The points that you raise are valid. Let's consider him/her to be a human as he will be born in family of great lords. But it s possible that he may be turned afterwards so it may be considered as non-human. Or it s possible that he will survive killing curse. He will be betrayed by his own. Either direct family or someone he may consider as family. Even if we find out this child, it would be foolish to manipulate him. As if by any chance he comes to call us as his family, we would be betraying him and call it a feeling but he will find about this sooner or later. So it s best to let him grow a bit before we try to contact him. But we would definitely need to find just who he is. Dumbledore must have already made his move. Antonin, try to find how many couples are there expecting child birth during the 30th and 31st of July and 1st of august. Let s be cautious friends. We have quite some time in our hands. Let s not waste it." Voldemort finished his own contemplation and left with an order and a nod not even bothering to look at them.

Both sensing their dismissal gave a nod to each other and started to walk towards the exit. Exiting the door of the room they were in, they continued to walk towards the exit. They had mutual respect for each other. Many expected them to try and get the other killed, but they knew that dark lord favored both equally. And also were sure that their lord himself would kill them if they tried something that foolish. They had some rivalry between them but also respected each other. They had drilled one fact in minds of several new recruits that if they wanted to get in Voldemort s good graces, then they would need to do something productive and prove their loyalty. Succeeding their missions was a first step. There was no shortcut here. That was why death eater ranks were so stable; very few ever challenged their lord's decision over someone's position. Who did had to fight with whoever they were accusing and most of the time they lost the fight as well as their life.

Finally they reached the wall and with a nod to each other they apparated out as the last fifteen meters from the wall was the place where they could apparate directly. They were the only once with this privilege.

After leaving Bella and Antonin, Voldemort had entered his study. He sat on his king sized bed and closed his eyes. His familiar and most faithful friend, the only one he could call as a friend Nagini slithered to him. He opened his eyes to look at her majestic form. She was a rare breed of snakes, magical one at that. She was a blazecross. He had met her in his child hood. That was when he had discovered that he could speak to snakes. He still remembered that cave where he had first met her. She had been with him since then. He had tormented his tormenters of childhood there. That was when he had truly felt the power that was within him. He had done many things beforehand but the torture that he made those bullies go through was his first taste of true power. That cave was filled with snakes. They would have attacked all of them when he had pleaded to stop and it had been in parceltongue. That was when he requested them to frighten these children. Then Nagini had come and told him how to use his powers. And they had enjoyed the torture. She was hardly 3 feet then. Now, now she was 18 feet tall and proud. Her black - ish green scales reflecting light like an emerald would, glowing green in places. Her slit like amber eyes looking at him. She coiled herself around him. He sighed in contentment. She always brought peace to his mind.

He relaxed and went inside his mind. It was covered in a dome like crystal which emitted a blood red glow. He always smirked at his success. His mind was like a black abyss. There was nothing in it. If anyone tried to enter his mind, they would find nothing. But that was the outside view. He had created a modified version of fedilius charm. He had placed it on his mind and made himself secret keeper. His mind from inside was a well organised armory and a zoo. He kept many different types of snakes here. They in truth were his memories. It was an excellent defense he had prepared during his time at Hogwarts. But that was when he hadn't discovered his modification yet.

Finally he started to think over the contents of the prophecy and the consequent discussion. The only thing that came to his mind was that the family will probably be a light family. Light families as much as they wanted to show love and selflessness were the ones who first fell for greed or anything that may make them seem superior to others. These things tended to get into their heads. Dark families were on the other hand the rich ones in every aspect of life. They did not tend to overlook their own at any cost unless it got extreme. As it was in case of Bella's cousin. He had abandoned his family for the potters. He had disregarded the traditions he was born with. A pity. But onto the matter at hand, if it was a child of light family, he would then turn to dark if betrayed by light and that was a great possibility. Now unity was a bit difficult part. He would either unite all the dark families or simply unite all that is considered dark. The latter was more likely as he had already united most of the dark families over the years of his reign and during the time he worked under cover, in the shadows. Only a few families who supported dark but didn't want to take part in a war due to its uncertain result and those families of blood traitors were those who didn't join. His main goal has been to bring back magic to its former glory.

If this child of prophecy was going to really wage a war on the light in general, then he wouldn't mind mentoring the child. He liked two things above all else, battle and teaching. After Antonin and Bella he had not taken any apprentice. Even then, these two were only mages. And thus could learn only so much from him. But this child would surpass all the others ever born! So he would obviously be at the peak of a sorcerer s power or even more. He could teach him almost everything that he knew and the child would be a true apprentice.

He knew when the time came, he may have to follow his orders. But as long as he was respected, he was just fine. He would be the teacher of the devastation light would go through and probably fall against.

He respected power. And he would also get the chance to battle to his hearts desires. Without a worry of being thrown out of his body i.e. his body being destroyed. He knew he could always comeback. His horcruxes ensured that much. But it would need time, and only Bella and Antonin knew of it and preparations of body restoration ritual were not simple. But if he had someone else just as competent or even more then even better to handle things, then he wouldn't need to worry about the war and what would happen in his absence. Death wasn't something he feared, but he could take part in true devastation, not needing to hold back any longer. It was a matter of convenience. For result of the war may as well come out during his absence and it would definitely be against the dark side. He was lucky that 'mages association' hadn't been able to track down his base, and he didn't have any spies in his inner main circle. It was of seven members. The most magically powerful number. Each of them selected carefully. Mages association was a group of most powerful mages and sorcerers, Lord Flamel or Lord Philosopher as he was known being the leader of the group. He knew that he couldn't possibly match the power of lord philosopher, but he had his apprentice as his target, he would kill Dumbledore when the right opportunity arises. It would be a blow to the association. But all in good time. He started to chuckle to himself, the he threw his head back thinking over numerous ways to kill Dumbledore and his chuckle turned into a full blown laughter. If anyone was here they would have had wet their pants by now as the laughter sent chills down the spines of muggles who lived miles away from the place...


	5. 05 birth of a legend

**Disclaimer:** As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R

most of the plots are mine and thx for reviews!

on with the story!

**Chapter 5 - Birth of a legend**

Months had passed since the day they heard prophecy. They had gone into hiding. She still remembered the day clearly.

Flash back ...

She was sitting on the couch along with her husband. Their best friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black sitting opposite to them. Their other best friend Peter Pettigrew standing behind the two. They were discussing over who should be the secret keeper. Who it should be, indeed. Her and James's first choice was obviously- Sirius black. But Sirius had a valid argument.

"Think of it, if I am the secret keeper then that would be an obvious choice. But if we make someone else secret keeper, then it would be better. No-one would guess it. Although many would guess Remus for secret keeper, as it would be the next most obvious choice. So we should make wormy here secrete keeper, no one would guess that. Death eaters would come after me and moony before going for anyone else. It would be difficult as tracking us or even getting us to speak will be difficult. Even if we are somehow captured you all would be still safe and think of something else." Sirius said.

The conviction in his voice was enough to persuade them from making him the secrete keeper.

Later they had turned to peter and asked if he was ready to take the responsibility. Peter had readily agreed.

Flashback ends...

The very next day Dumbledore had come and they had cast the fedilius. The property they had chosen was that in Godric's Hollow, a spacious but mediocre home for someone who lived in a manor. They had secretly moved their most necessary things here in the short time they had. It included mostly of food and clothing along with necessary things that would be necessary for the children, once they were born.

Flashback...

Then they had placed the ward-stones in appropriate places, on the edges of the property. One was placed at the very center of the house. After that Dumbledore had proceeded to cast the spell with his wand raised.

"From the depths of the earth,

Let the powers of divinity rise,

In the name of magic ,-"

Waves of pure magic were coming out of earth and Dumbledore's words which were empowered by his own magic were shaping and controlling the pure untamed magic and directing it. White lights of pure magic being guided by light blue magic of Dumbledore's.

"Do the binding of the place,

In the person of faith,"

Dumbledore kept continuing but he was obviously under strain if the sweating on his forehead was anything to go by.

"Do you Peter Alex Pettigrew accept the secret of residence of James Harold Potter?" he asked turning his wand in circular pattern around Peter s body.

"Yes." was the reply. And Peter started to glow a luminescent color of white.

Then Dumbledore turned his wand towards James and asked, "Do you James Harold Potter accept Peter Pettigrew as the Holder of your place's secret in Godric's hollow?" while he kept twirling his wand in a precise infinity Symbol. Then he turned his wan towards ground which had started to glow a magnificent yellow.

"Yes." James said.

And then he started to glow but his glow soon faded and the property started to glow even brighter. Dumbledore's hand was shaking with the effort to keep the spell under control. Soon they had to close their eyes to shield them from the brightening of the light being emitted. While they had their eyes closed, the glow was then being absorbed by the 9 ward-stones in the property then they exploded in a shower of bight flashes and the magic released from them made the whole property glow and then it rushed to peter and entered his head making him scream while clutching his head and dropping to the ground on his knees. If anyone were able to see what was happening, then they would have seen the whole property flickering in and out of existence and then fading towards Pettigrew's head and disappearing inside it. Then a shock wave passed throughout the world, hiding all the information of the property.

When they had opened their eyes once more they could see a heavily panting Dumbledore and an almost unconscious peter, whimpering on the ground.

Dumbledore enervated him with a quick flick of his wand sending a calming charm over peter.

"So, what's the secret? I am hungry." asked Sirius trying to attempt a joke.

"Potters leave in Godric's hollow" Peter mumbled. His voice hoarse due to mouth being dried out by the heat of the spell. There was a flash of yellow glow on peter's forehead when he said this and fixed the secret. When everyone looked at the space between the two houses in front of them, another one almost identical to the other ones popped into existence. They then entered the home, tired but satisfied

Flashback ends ...

Dumbledore had gone and cast the fedilius on the Longbottoms property on the next day.

Dumbledore would always visit in every few days. They had given secret to both Longbottoms and a few of their trusted like the professors at Hogwarts. Not all but a few trusted. Remus was on a mission from Dumbledore. So he was not going to be around for some time.

Today was 30th of July and Alice was expecting child birth today. They had called Andromeda for the delivery. They were not going in St. Mungose for her child birth, deeming it to be unsafe. Better to be safe than sorry. They had thought. She was expecting to go through labor during night, so they were going to be there to support them. Andromeda was on leave and would be with them throughout the birth of both the families.

Soon night fell over the horizon. James was sitting on his sofa in the living room. In front of his fireplace. Soon Sirius would come and both of them would go to meet the Longbottoms. That made him smile. Lily has been sleeping for last one and a half an hour but still wasn't done. It wasn't like he minded it but it made him keep staring at her sleeping form. Her peaceful smile making his heart beat faster, but damn he couldn't even sleep with her now, at least not until birth of his children. He had to stay awake almost all the time since she would start feeling pain all over sometimes and he would need to call Andy as they used to call Andromeda.

Very soon fireplace turned green and a figure stepped in. long black hair and an aristocratic face. His light black eyes scanning the room while elegantly stepping inside it. James had his wand trailed on the person. A curse on his lips to be unleashed. Looking James in such a state the figure laughed heartily and said, "Don't be worried so much Prongs, Lils will be fine. It's still some time for her, you know." With a small smirk on his face.

James scowled but then smiled and lowered his wand and said "You would know only if you were in my shoes, Padfoot." Padfoot and prongs were code names that they had made during the times when they were still in Hogwarts. It represented their animagus forms. James was Prongs- a great Wight Stag. Sirius was Padfoot - a grim like mutt. Peter was wormtail- a rat. And finally Remus was moony; he was not an animagus but a werewolf. He was the reason why they had become animagus, to keep him company during the fool moon, when he would be transformed.

They chattered for a while as there was still some time to go.

Soon bell chimed 7 O clock and they proceeded to go to Longbottoms home. First James entered the flu and with a shout of "House Longbottom!" he disappeared in a flash of green flames. Sirius shortly followed behind him.

When they appeared, they stepped out in a small house. It was also mediocre in terms of furniture just like his. Frank was sitting on the sofa in front of it. Frank has chosen Cornard as his secret keeper. And Cornard was sitting beside Frank.

"Well finally Potter and Black decide to grace us with their presence!" Cornard exclaimed.

"Come on we are on time. I am sure nothing has happened yet." was Sirius's reply.

They chattered a bit. Chattering Lightened Franks mood a little. It was around 11 when they heard a cry come from the adjacent room. They quickly rushed outside the room and waited as the door was locked. Frank was getting impatient and was circling in the small passageway. James closed the gap between them and placed a hand over his shoulder.

"Calm down, buddy, she and your child will be perfectly fine." He said.

Frank looked at him and said, "I'll tell you that tomorrow."

James just smiled imagining himself in Frank s position tomorrow.

They waited by the wall and they kept hearing her cries of plea to get rid of the pain.

Injection of potions during labor was dangerous, that's why no potions were used to reduce the pain.

After a few moments, Alice's cries subsided. Andy came out of the room holding a bundle of cloths in her hands. She then passed it to Frank. He took the bundle with his trembling hands.

Afterwards the baby was passed to both Sirius and James while Frank checked up on Alice. He came back saying that Alice was sleeping. He took the little guy in his hands and once more stared at it. Small blond hair of the child sticking on its head. He said, "Neville, Neville Frank Longbottom will be his name. Heir of Hose of Longbottom, welcome." His voice was small but was filled with awe of his firstborn.

Soon both Sirius and James left.

When James arrived home, Lily was sitting on sofa, slightly dozing on and off. He smiled at her. Her head quickly turned towards the flu and she smiled as she saw James appear from the flu. He then sat beside her and gave her a chaste kiss on cheek. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed in containment, her worries soon forgotten.

Finally after a few minutes she asked, "What happened?" not bothering to even open her eyes, too content to even move.

"Everything was fine, he named his kid Neville." James said, putting a hand on her stomach and trying to feel his own children.

It made Lily blush. But he couldn't see it, as he was concentrating at the bulge of her stomach.

He could feel pulses with his hand not quite distinct but still there.

They soon retired to their room for the night.

Next day came, which they were waiting for so long. Andy was coming sometime during noon. So everything was going smoothly for Andy came and set on readying her equipment and whatever she may need during the birth. It was set in a room adjacent to the master and Sirius were already there, chattering in Sirius's room on first floor.

During the late hours of around 11 o clock she started to feel extreme pain and screamed "Arghhhhhhhh."

James and Andy quickly rushed to her followed by Remus and Sirius. Peter was not coming as he had to stay hidden due to security reasons. They quickly moved Lily into the room pre-prepared for this.

Her screams were getting louder.

Does she always scream so much? Sirius asked as a half-hearted joke which he got a chuckle from both Remus and James. Remus had flu-called Frank and he was coming soon. Lily s voice started to rise. That was when Frank came in and just then James had started to pace.

He did what James had done for him yesterday.

They had a small laugh at the irony of the situation.

Slowly her cries died down and a new small cry was heard. It was soon followed by another but a very short one. Lily was sweating but had a tired smile on her face. It was one of pride.

James quickly rushed inside and took a look at her and confirmed that she was O.K. then his attention was drawn to the two children crying in a crib. He looked at Andy and slowly walked towards her. She gave him the first-born and then took the other in her hands and proceeded to give it to Lily who was half sitting on the bed.

James was very tense for taking his first-born in his hands due to the fragile state of the new-born. Although it was a healthy child and had small reddish hairs on its small head. He walked to Lily, still holding the child and looking at it. Both were boys and born with a difference of 4 minutes. Andy had told him that the one he was holding was the older one born on 11:55pm and the one Lily was holding was born at 11:59pm. The small babe had chocolate brown eyes and was looking to be on verge of crying. He started to cry. James did his best to stop the child s crying. He cooed it and tried to console it. But he was failing, miserably.

Lily was holding the other child with black hair, it was sleeping peacefully. But the cries of its brother woke it up. It stirred in its bundle of cloths and blinked his tiny eyes several times and then opened them to reveal a pair of green yes so beautiful that she had to stifle her gasp. She thought that they were glowing. It was un-natural to her. It was like they had some hidden knowledge and power in them. But the next moment they were normal light shade of green. Looking at her in wonderment. She thought it was just lights messing with her.

After a thought of a moment she decided and said, "This little one will be Harry, Harrison James potter."

James looked at her and smiled saying, "Yes I like the name."

He then said "Take this fella, doesn't seem to be going to stop anytime soon." While he handed Lily the other one in his hand and took Harry from her.

Lily was cooing the red head one and it seemed to be working to put it to sleep.

Then James said," Nat, that s what we would name him. Nathan James Potter." While he looked at the red head in Lily s hand. She nodded her head, showing her acceptance of the name.

Andy had already left as she had a 4 year old daughter to take care of. Nymphadora was her name. But while she was leaving she had informed both Sirius and Remus about the children and also told to wait for some time before they rushed in to see the children.

So that was the reason why the two marauders were pacing in front of the room.

Soon getting impatient they rushed inside with but a glance in each other's direction.

When they entered the room, they saw lily and James each holding a child. James's eyes fell on the two and his face broke in a wide grin. It was returned by the two with same identical grins.

James said, "meet Harry or Harrison Potter-" while he pointed his head towards the child in his arms "-and meet Nat or Nathan Potter" he said while looking at the baby in Lily s hands.

They both took each child from the hands of the parents and looked at the small babes. Sirius first took Nat while Remus took Harry. They then passed the children to each other.

Then James declared, "Sirius Black, you will be godfather of Harry potter and Remus Lupin, you will be godfather of Nathan Potter." Both men snapped their heads at James and looked shocked then their lips turned into grins that might split their faces in two. Guessing that these two might be about to shout, James quickly put his finger on his lips stopping them from making any real noise.

But they still yeppieeed in hushed voices.

Soon both newly named godfathers left after having their last glance at their godchildren.

Next day rose, bringing new energy in potter household. Nat had already awoken them thrice in the night while harry slept soundly. They had been fed by Lily before putting them to sleep. Well they had to put a sleeping charm though a mild one on Nat as he was not ready to sleep and kept crying whereas harry had fallen asleep as soon as he had his share of milk.

They had kept both boys under modified silencing wards which let the parents know that someone was making noise but no-one could hear them.  
>Harry was already awake and looking at the sealing with wondrous eyes. But his still undeveloped mind unable to process anything. Although his magic and memory catching every small detail of the sealing or as much of it that he could lay his eyes upon.<p>

Soon his brother woke up and started to cry. Lily rushed in and scooped him up not even noticing the long wake Harry. She fed Nat with her milk and then put him down in the crib. She was going to turn around but for some reason she again looked at the crib. She saw Harry this time. He was looking at her with his eyes glowing. But like last time they faded to their normal light green. He was trying to lift his arm. Thinking that he also wanted to be fed and forgetting about the part when his eyes glowed, she quickly took him in her arms and started to breast feed him. Once Harry was fed, she put him in the same crib. Then she half turned and brought her wand out of her back pocket. She summoned the box which was lying innocently in the left corner of the room. Then she touched the tip of her wand to the top of the box and said, expand and the box started to expand and turned into a crib.

It was more elegant looking and lavish than the other one. Made out of obsidian while the other was made out of willow wood. It had moving photos of a phoenix and a dragon running all around the crib on the sides while the old one was plane. She picked Nat up and put him in the new crib; it was shining in the lights coming in the nursery from the open windows. Harry kept looking at the other shining thing as the older crib was a little lower to the ground compared to the newer one.

Lily soon left once she thought that everything was settled. The fact that Harry had performed accidental magic and confounded her to look at him remained forgotten by all bar one person ...


	6. 06 a fatal mistake

**A/N:**thank you for all those who are reading this story

and please do review and let me know what you think!

**Chapter 6 - A Fatal Mistake**

Dumbledore was busy with his part in Mage's Association, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of ICW and ministry as well as the attacks from death eaters. That is what had held him from coming and having a look at the children and possibly finding just who the key child of the prophecy is.

It was already two days since the birth of the potter children and three since the birth of Neville Longbottom. Tomorrow was the first party after the birth of the children. A combined party as it was, he would have a chance to compare all three children together. But unknown to him he was going to regret that day very much in a not so far away

Party or as it was a small gathering of families and friends, since it had been a long time that they had seen their friends and have laughed together, it was held at potters as moving two children would be difficult and also keeping an eye on them would be difficult as Longbottoms had only room for one baby in their nursery as they had not prepared extra due to the lack of time.

Potters on the other hand had extra room in their nursery as they had two children and had taken majors to see that they had a little extra room for another two children in their nursery. Alice would only need to bring her Neville's crib as it was better and more reliable than transfigured or conjured one.

Only a handful of people were invited as only a few were given the fedilius s secret. It included Minerva Mcgonagall, filius flitwick, and of-course the remaining marauders (although they were going to be there anyway), Albus, Augusta Longbottom (grandmother of Neville and mother of Frank Longbottom) along with Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Neville Longbottom, Chris Cornard with his wife Ema Cornard-perks (a muggle-born), and the Weasley's. Molly Weasley - Prewt, Arthur Weasley and their twin sons who were already about three year olds, Fred and George Weasley and their older son Percy weasley. The oldest two Billius weasley and Charlus weasley were not coming as they would be keeping their youngest brother Ronald company. Ron was almost a year old and both Bill and Charlie were already in Hogwarts. Then there was Andy and Her daughter Nymphadora. This was the small list of people they were calling for this occasion.

Preparations were not difficult as Albus has generously offered help from Hogwarts elves about purchasing things they may need from Diagon Alley as spotting of any potter elf may cause trouble. It was well known that they along with Longbottoms had either fled or gone into hiding due to being targeted by dark lord and spotting their elves after this period may cause people to think that thy were back. And these people included death eaters as well. And that definitely wasn't a good sign. Same was in case of Longbottoms.

Finally after a number of pops and a lot of waves from the wands of the marauders, Frank and Cornard with a number of charms and spells, hall of the room was ready for the guests. Lily and Alice were looking over the preparations of food in the kitchen. Once Hogwarts house elves had delivered all the necessary ingredients, Frodo and Trixi, the elf of Longbottoms had started to prepare for food. In under less than an hour they had enough food to last for the party. They had chicken soup, mushroom soup, and beef for gravy, brown bread, boiled eggs for dinner. They also had prepared sweets. They had Gulabjamun an Indian sweet dish, they also had chocolate ice-cream.

Soon the time for party came and one by one started to arrive.

First to come was Andy.

"Good evening Andy." Lily greeted Andy as Andy stepped out of fireplace.

"Good evening Lily, how are you feeling now." Andy asked while stepping aside and accepting Lily s hand for handshake as well as inquiring about the new mother.

"Very..."

But she was cut off as another figure stepped out of the fireplace slipping and almost hitting Andy in her fall before she was caught by James.

"Sorry." she said timidly and looking down while shuffling her feet.

"No worries kid, so how are you and your Dragon." James asked her while ruffling her hair.

She relaxed and quickly started to tell him about the Dragon that he had gifted her on her birthday. How it was awesome and could also emit fire and it also hovered a little in the air. She was so excited about it that it made him laugh as well.

Looking at the two Andy just smiled at lily and said, "You know, I bet that you two would prove to be great parents."

"Thank you." was all that Lily could say.

They checked upon children to make sure that they were asleep or awake. Both Neville and Nat had started to cry indicating that they were awake. They took one of each in their arms and left the nursery. As soon as the doors clicked shut Harry s eyes opened and his fast developing mind started to look everywhere. He looked in the two other cribs, they were empty. His mind registering the fact that there was something here just a while ago before he had closed his eyes and it had been moved and his instincts telling that some who he should be with wasn't here. He lifted his hand and put his thumb in his mouth, sucking on it and again falling asleep.

Soon one by one guest started to arrive. First to come was the Weasley family. After came Cornard family. And others continued to come in. Lily went upstairs and took harry out of his crib and came back in the hall. Nat was in Remus s hands and Neville in his mother s. Party had already started and was in full swing. Harry had already awoken and was taking every face in. he was silent most of the times. But his eyes betrayed his wonder about all that he was seeing. There were ribbons hovering above them which would disintegrate with a small blast in a shower of small stardust like particles.

All the children were being passed from one person to the other. Neville was making a lot of fuss while Nat was giggling mad when he was swung from one place to other.

After some time during the party, fireplace once more turned green and a tall figure with a long bearded and a crooked nose with glasses on it stepped inside the room.

"Good evening everybody" he said.

"Good evening headmaster" Lily greeted him.

One by one everyone started to greet them. Soon he was through all the greetings and then he was with only the mothers and the three children. As he had expressed that he wanted to meet them.

They soon gathered in one corner of the hall and with quick cast wards around them in less than a few minutes he turned to them. Lily was holding both Nat and Harry in one hand each while Alice was holding Neville.

"What is it Headmaster?" Alice asked.

Dumbledore smiled his grandfatherly smile.

"Nothing to worry my dear, I am but curios to see how powerful these children would be, so I would like to see that." He said.

"Oh!" Alice said relieved that it wasn't about any danger or any recent attack.

Dumbledore took Neville from her hand and looked in the eyes with the child. Neville s mind was starting to develop; he could see it with a gentle probe of legillmens. He activated his aura-site to see the strength of Neville's aura. It was white but not very intense. Hmmm. A light wizard and from the dormant size of it, an above average wizard.

"He will probably rival his father in coming times, my dear." He said looking at Alice and handed Neville back.

Alice smiled back brilliantly and said, "I'll go tell his father" and she rushed out.

Once she had left, he turned to Lily and first took Nat in his hand. Following the same procedure he found that Nat had a better grasp of emotions and his aura was more intense than that of Neville.

Aura was a representation of one's power. It wasn't true power like magical core's size, but it usually gave an approximate value of one's base affinity of magic and strength. It may change in future though. Depending on what path one chooses to follow.

He looked at Lily and said, "Nat will be exceptionally powerful, I am certain that he will be a mage class at least. Expect a lot of trouble by the time he is about 4." His smile was not a stretched one though, after all a potter was sure to be a Gryffindor at heart. In turn under his thumb.

Lily couldn't keep her excitement within her. She was almost bouncing on her feet in her position. She then took Nat back and handed him Harry.

Unfortunately he couldn't read anything; it was complete dark in Harry s mind. He scanned Harry s aura, again nothing. He frowned. Finally he deduced that due to Harry and Nat being twins, Nat must have received most of the magic and thus Harry must be a squib. It explained why he couldn't read anything from Harry as his mind was undeveloped being a squib. But unfortunately if he had been a healer, then he wouldn't have come to this conclusion and handled this with a more cautious approach. But alas he wasn't and the conclusion he made now would be the downfall of light.

Magic was generated inside a body from the beginning unlike the popular belief that it was generated within a mother s womb and then absorbed in the body of the infant after some time, while creating a new core in the infant for handling magic. Very few pursued the path of healers. It needed more precision and control than raw power. And most people with larger magical capacity choose Currier's involving more power. Only one Sorcerer was known to be a great healer. But unfortunately all this information was not known to Dumbledore as he never had much interest in the specifics of healing.

After looking at the troubled look on Dumbledore s face Lily asked worriedly, "Anything wrong Albus?"

"I cannot sense any aura in him. Unfortunately it seems that Harry is a squib. You may want to try magic revealing spells used by healers. Aura-sight is usually accurate but I may be wrong." He said with a somber face. It was a tragedy indeed. He wasn't a master manipulator for nothing he wanted to make sure that the boy was indeed squib and he wasn't going to take any blame if it was not true. So the best way was to make Lily herself do the spells.

Lily already had tears in her eyes. She shakily took her wand out with her free hand and cast spells used to check magical health of a person like exhaustion level and etc. but nothing came positive. Thus implying that Albus was right. Her younger son was squib. She started to sob silently. One hand still holding Nat and her grip unintentionally tightened.

"I know it's a tragedy for you Lily, but look on the brighter side, Nat is sure to be a mage and you will have to be strong for your family. James will be hard to accept the fact. You will have to comfort him." He said with a sad smile on his face.

Lily nodded looking at Nat. she wiped her tears and shakily took Harry in her arms.

Soon everyone started to vacate potter s household. When everyone had already left, she put the children back in their cribs. Both were already asleep due to all day s activities.

She descended downstairs and sat on sofa after having a long hot bath. Soon James joined her. He put an arm around her shoulders and slowly closed the gap between them. She rested her head on his shoulder. Both sat in silence for some time.

Finally James spoke," It was a great day wasn't it? All friends together not worrying over war or anything, such a relief." He finished with a sigh.  
>Lily nodded in his chest but a sob escaped her lips, betraying her true emotional turmoil.<p>

James raised her chin making her look at him. But she refused to look him in the eyes, shaking her head.

"Look at me Lils, please look at me." He said soothingly but a hint of worry was evident in his voice.

She looked him in eyes and clutched him for dear life like any moment everything would be taken away from her and started to sob uncontrollably. James kept mumbling soothing words in her ear. Soon she calmed down enough to be able to speak.

"I - I a - am sorry Ja - ames, I am sorry." She said.

"What for?" James asked confusedly.

"Nat is very powerful probably a mage, he said." She said.

It didn't take much time for James to conclude that but then he processed her words. "bu - but that's a very good news. Why are you sad?" He asked skeptically, not understanding her reasoning for crying at all.

"Y - yes, yes but James, Harry . Our Harry I - is a - a squib." And she again started to cry.

James was shocked with this revelation. Utter disbelief was written on his face. No potter had ever been a squib. None from the time of first lord potter himself.

If he had been in a standing position, he would have definitely collapsed on floor.

"Wha - what did you say?" he asked her in a whisper to confirm what he heard. Desperately wanting to hear something else but knowing that he wouldn't.

"Nat is going to be in the mage class James, b - but H Harry is a squib." She said looking down.

James heaved a long sigh and closed his eyes.

After a long silence Lily timidly asked, "Are you all right James?"

He gave a small chuckle and said," I don t understand if I should be happy that Nat will surpass even me in magical prowess o - or grieve that Harry will never do any magic at all." His face was really looking on the verge of crying. But he had held his tears for he had to support Lily as she was blaming herself for this. Even she knew that potters never had a squib in their entire family.

It was an irony that he never wanted to face again. In the history of potter s there has never been birth of twins. Nor has there been birth of a squib. They for some odd reason had always just one heir born in each generation. This time there were two, but magical heir was still only one. And it was yet to be seen if Nat would be accepted as Next Lord Potter, there has not been one since his grandfather who was a sorcerer.

There is nothing we can do Lils, let's just give everything in raising our child and give him everything that he needs; we cannot neglect Nat at all now, as he might be You - Know - Who's new target due to being a more probable candidate.

Lily nodded.

"Yes. We would need to take great care of Nat, he h he might be You - Know – Who's target." She said. Consequently both forgot about Harry.

In the nursery Harry's eyes opened at exact that moment and glowed an eerie shade of green. Wind picked in the room but he suddenly blinked and everything became normal again.

Harry looked around moving his tiny head. He put his thumb in his mouth and started to suck on it. Soon he drifted off to sleep...


	7. 07 defying magic

**A/N : **Sorry fellas for the late update, it's been a busy life with college starting and, all

hope u enjoy this chap!

**Disclaimer : **HP verse belongs to JKR but all OC char and most plot lines are mine.

**Chapter 7: Defying Magic**

It's been over a year since they had discovered about Nat's magical power level and they had also experienced his magical outbursts some times. It had occurred on several occasions. They hadn't expected it as Dumbledore has said it would occur by the age of three or four. But they were happy anyway, as it meant that Nat would be even stronger than anticipated.

But they had started to slowly forget Harry, only when Frodo or Trixi (another elf they owned) came and told them that he needed to be fed, is when they would remember him. James would keep playing with Nat all the time. Godfathers of both children would come every once in a while. They would play with Nat all the time. He was the prophesied one after - all. They had started to consider Nat the child of the prophecy, after all he was the strongest born among the suspected three children.  
>They wanted to spend all the time they could with Nat. It was obvious that Dark Lord wanted to either have this powerful child as his or destroy it. But through the times they would usually forget about Harry who would most of the times be in care of the elves. Namely Mystica. Potters for some bizarre reason have always had a personal house elf that was appointed for each heir. It was considered a false story as neither James nor his father had a personal house elf. But unfortunately they didn't know that it was only for the Lord, Lady and for the heir apparent of the title Lord Potter. And James s father had not mentioned it to James as he himself never had one and thus wasn't told by his father. Mystica was one of those house elves who just mystically appeared and the reason behind their mystical appearance was only known to Lords.<p>

She would look after him for everything bar his milk feeding, but that was over now. He had grown up pretty quick. Now he doesn't need to be dependent on Lily. He was already able to speak pretty well. But the only living who saw him speaking was Mystica. She was a lot different than the normal house elves.

She was the same size of that of a normal 6 year old child. There was not much of a difference between her and any other children that harry had seen over at Godric's Hollow. The only difference was her ears. They were pointed on the tip. She had deep blue eyes, like they were crystals of ice taken from bottom of a frozen lake, from a dark corner. She was smarter than your usual elf. But she looked far too beautiful than any human child could ever look. She had grace that even most veela's (creatures of passion, lust and love that looked perfectly human but could transform into avian creatures if wanted) would kill to have. She would also teach Harry some small - small things about language like what to ask when he was hungry or he needed anything. She had seen Harry doing magic intentionally as he was always calm with some hidden intelligence within those green orbs of his. He would quickly learn whatever she taught him. She had shown him how to control his magic and create birds or dragons out of thin air. But her time here was limited for some reason. She would need to go back where she came from.

Initially Harry would cause a lot of trouble with his magic as he had no control over it. She had seen it happening many times.

Ones when the boys were 7 months old, Nat was crying aloud because he wanted James's wand. Harry was having a cute frown on his face and suddenly James's wand which was in his left hand held loosely jerked out of his grasp and flew towards Nat and landed in front of him with a thud and clattered to ground. Everyone present which unfortunately turned out to be Longbottoms and godfathers of the children and their parents, looked with wide eyes at Nat who had taken the wand and was waving it in air giggling thinking that something funny would come out. But after a minute or so of waving when nothing happened, he threw his wand down. That brought everyone back out of their stupor. Everyone celebrated how Nat had done his first bit of magic by summoning James's wand! That too when he was just 7 months old! That was the first time. She could feel the magic coming out of Harry when it happened. Thus she knew who it truly was that did magic. But she did not reveal herself to correct them. It was obvious that they neglected harry and loved Nat more.

She would play with Harry most of the time and would do all his cleaning and even washing him. She would inform Trixi to take Harry to Lily whenever it was time for his feeding. No other elf could tell James and Lily about her for some reason but they didn't have any complaints either as she was just taking care of Harry.

Lord Voldemort on the other hand was getting restless. He had yet to confirm who the child of the prophecy is. He already had found that one of the potter children could possibly be one of them. As he had already shown signs of accidental magic. Nathan or Nat, that's what the child's name, was. But something was nagging at the back of his mind. And he wanted to silence all doubts that he had, by confirming this.

He had already found information about the secret of potter's house. He knew that Dumbledore was already aware of this fact. This meant that all this Nat being super powerful might be a hoax. He decided that it was time to see the truth by himself.

He called Dolovov and Bellatrix to him by the marks he had branded them.

Soon in less than ten minutes they both were standing in the throne room in front of his throne bent on one knee. They waited for him to address them.

Finally after a few moments he spoke in his raspy and barely whispered voice, "Rise and be seated." While he motioned towards chairs, that he had just conjured. They were a piece of work. Both of them took seats silently and waited for Voldemort to speak again. They knew that they have had only a few raids in last few months. Those have been executed successfully. But only three have been done in a period of about a year. It was obvious that it was due to their lord occupied with the mystery of the prophecy.

"It is time to see the prophesied one." He again spoke. "But I don't want to take any chances." He added.

He already knew what death would mean to him, his soul would be ripped apart from his body. He had a very good idea of what pains he was going to take. He had read about it in the book which gave him all the information about his way of immortality.

He moved away from those thoughts for they weren't pleasant even for him.

"We will have only one chance to attack. I would be attacking potters. I will be attacking Potters and Bella-" he said while looking at Bellatrix and said " - you'll start preparing for a resurrection ritual. We would need a no. of potions and the ingredients are rare and costly, take help from Lucius and Narcissa as they would provide help that is needed. "I'll tell Lucius to give you a diary, it will be necessary at the last stage of the ritual. Preparations of potions shouldn't be started now as there is no necessity right now. But keep everything ready. In the event that I somehow fail to come back after the attack, prepare for the ritual. Keep everything ready before the winter solstice of the next year. And call me 7 days before the solstice; it would probably exhaust you so have Narcissa with you so she could check up on you. Until then I would remain in a wraith form if my body gets destroyed. And remember, Severus is not to be informed of this." He said where Bella nodded. Then he looked at Antonin Dolovov and said "You will be leading an attack on Diagon Alley on Halloweens eve. Start preparations. I want you to cause as much havoc as you can and tell your people to not divulge in direct combats to much as that would exhaust them and their capture would be easy. You ll have nearly 17 min before aurors and order members start to arrive. Take a larger force to cause larger destruction but see that our supporters are not present there throughout the day spread a rumor among them about something and they will have a fair warning. I want less causality on our side. If you find any good members of order finish them as fast as you can. No toying around." He finished with his usual monotones but chilling voice. It wasn't missed by the two that how casually their lord had spoken about his own body being destroyed. It definitely sounded painful.

He then handed Bella a list of ingredients and the recipe to make the potions.

"Dismiss" he said after that and both the occupants in front of him rose to their feet and started to leave after giving him a bow and simultaneously saying "as you wish master." And promptly turned to leave.

After they had left, he summoned Lucius.

In another 15 minutes or so Lucius was there on his knee in front of him.

"Rise Lucius." He said.

"How may I serve you my lord?" Lucius asked.

"I need you to give the diary I gave you to protect to Bella." Dark lord said.

Lucius was about to speak but Voldemort spoke seeing that Lucius was afraid that he might have somehow displeased him, "You have done well with protecting it, but I have a need of it now so don't worry yourself, my slippery friend."

Even though he was amused inside, he didn't let it show outside.

Then he dismissed Lucius as well.

After Lucius had left he summoned Severus to him.

In another 20 minutes Severus was there in front of him. Voldemort quickly cast a 'crucio!' the pain curse on Snape. He held it for a few seconds and then lifted it with a backward swish of his wand.

"Don't be late Severus. I don't like tardiness." He said.

"Forgive me my lord, I was unfortunately in Diagon alley and had to walk out of the apothecary before apparating out." Snape said.

"Snape, you'll be going to secure a job for yourself in Hogwarts. Fooling Dumbledore is not easy, but I am sure you can manage that. Use the excuse that you heard the prophecy and told me. But now you regret it. Because you just found out that I am going to attack potters and your friend, evans is now in danger." He said with a smirk plastered on his face and then said looking at the now shocked Snape "yes I know that you loved the mudblood."

Then he dismissed Snape as well. He wanted to see where Snape's true loyalty laid and if he would be swayed.

X - X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X

It was almost two months over from the day that he had planned the attacks. It was still near the dawn and people were mingling in the alley. They were bustling from places to places. It was the day of Halloween's eve today, one of the days that people of Britain enjoyed to celebrate. Joy and hope for many who have lost it in the current war.

When suddenly, people in black cloaks appeared in the busy streets of Diagon Alley. They were wearing skull mask of sorts to hide their faces. They started to fire curses in every direction as soon as they appeared in the alley.

'bombarda!' , 'bombarda' , 'bombarda' , these shouts could be heard everywhere in the alley. In less than 5 minutes, all the laughter and smiling faces in the alley were filled with screams of people, dead - bodies and cries for help from those who were wounded. Anti - apparation wards were raised before anyone could leave. A number of people died trying to apparate out and flinched some part of their body. Some leaving behind their heart some a leg, some eyes or some brain, it was a very disturbing side as you could see their other parts twitching or screaming due to the loss and violently being slammed back on the ground or being thrown up few feet in the air and then painfully landing on the ground.

Alley was a mess in less than ten minutes, and it continued.

Sturgis Pudmore was an Order member. As soon as he saw that people were attacking the alley, he fled through Leaky Cauldron to the headmaster's office.

Headmaster, there is an attack on the alley. There are too many of them we need to help them fast. He said panting when he reached the table behind which sat Albus.

Dumbledore easily understood that it was Death Eaters doing this. But he didn't understand immediately why there was an attack of a large scale after the gap of 6 months. Perhaps, Voldemort wanted to strike when least expected and cause most fear. He thought.

But he didn't waste any time on this as he sent a message about an emergency and a meeting through the phoenix pendant that he kept on his desk. He even called Frank and James along with their wives. They would be needed as the attack was a big scale one. And there would undoubtedly be lot of causality.

Soon all the members of Order of the Phoenix arrived at the grounds of Hogwarts.

"We must hurry before more lives are lost" Dumbledore said and they started to apparate on the outskirts of Diagon alley. When they arrived they separated in different groups of three. Albus going on his own. Other groups were being led by one of the stronger members of the order. One was being led by a wizened auror named Alastor Moody, second group by Frank, third group by James fourth group by a bulky dark man named Kingsley Shacklebolt, another one was being led by Emilee Vans and there were other groups which were being led by Hogwarts teachers who could come and aid with their wand. Lily and Alice stayed behind to aid take the wounded to Hogwarts and do some simple first aid that they could without the help of proper equipment or place. Remus and Sirius stayed there to look over them. Others separated and took different directions and went ahead.

They could all see spell fire in different directions. Luckily for one of the groups they sneaked up on two death eaters and quickly stunned them.

They were about to bind the two now stumped death eaters but out of nowhere three piercing curses came in their direction. Two were caught off guard. First one was caught on his wand hand which had his bones in hand almost broken. He clutched his hand and screamed loudly. Second one was unfortunate to catch the piercing curse on his neck. He chocked and gurgled on his own blood and died. Third one was better as he was fast enough to cast a shield and save his own hide.  
>But the other person casting the spells didn't stop and kept on casting. The order member was hard pressed on dodging as the curses kept coming at him. After four successive reductors his shield gave - out and as there was not enough space in the alley to properly dodge he ducked low. An organ melting curse sailed over his head but unfortunately his head caught a bombarda and his head exploded in a shower of blood and gore. The new - comer then turned to the man clutching his own arm. That pathetic idiot was searching his wand in the fallen debris of the crumbled walls. He cast a 'sectumsempra' on the neck of the fallen man and severed his neck altogether killing the man. This newcomer was also a death eater as he wore the same black hooded robes and the bone white mask. He turned to the two captured comrades of his and sent small jolts of lightning on their necks.<p>

It woke the two fallen up although not in a conventional way. They felt stung and a bit electrocuted.

"That would teach you to be more attentive of your surroundings." He said.

This person was none other than Rudolphus Lestrange. One of the inner circle members and husband of the crazed Bellatrix Lestrange. He unfortunately was the incharge of these two idiots who cannot keep their eyes open on a battle field.

"Be careful fools or you'd be in Azkaban in no time!" He said angrily at the two idiots who were now scratching the back of their necks sheepishly.

With that he turned to leave when one of the two said, "err.. thanks anyway."

Order was not having much of luck. They had failed to find many of the death eaters. Only moody and Dumbledore have had any. Moody had already killed two and the third was choking on his own blood, his mechanic magical left eye spinning rapidly in its socket. His face previously showing scars, now having new or opened wounds. His wooden right leg making no sound even when it hit the ground every time he walked. He was a mage of middle class but his skill with wand was well known. He believed that a good death eater was a dead death eater.

Dumbledore on the other hand had a cold and dark glint in his eyes. He had already deduced that this was a distraction and Voldemort must be planning to attack one of the families or both. Four of the captured death eaters lay on one side. Right now he was somewhere in the middle of the alley. He could probably overpower the wards. But there was no saying that someone was waiting for him behind a corner waiting for him to just do that and exhaust himself. He decided other wise and kept looking for others. It has not been more than ten minutes since they arrived.

While the Diagon Alley was burning in the clash of two factions, Lord Voldemort was walking down towards the potter house. His magical aura flaring wildly. No one was there on the streets. Even though it was eve of Halloween, people both muggle and magical leaving in this place had a somber mood. Flowers in the lawn of the nearest house turned color from their bright yellow, white, cream, pink and others to grayish and black, being corrupted by Voldemort s dark aura. He was currently disillusioned so no one was able to see him. But his aura was felt throughout the village of Godric's Hollow. It affected the area greatly. Atmosphere in the village of Godric's Hollow was dampened and dark. Voldemort purposefully strode towards the place where he knew potters house was located.

He soon reached the place. He could see the faint outlines of magic surrounding the place. If he hadn't known the secrete of the house previously and then found out, then he would have seen a house suddenly materializing in front of him while the surrounding area split to create space for it. It was one of the dimension magic known and performable to humans. But even this required a lot of magic to be performed. And left even the most powerful sorcerers panting or on their knees.

He activated his mage sight to see the construct of the magic around the place. What he saw made him laugh. 'How astoundingly stupid!' he thought. 'These fools have no other ward, none at all! Completely relying on fedilius only.' how stupid. He thought and openly sneered. He got inside the small property with ease. He neared the door. He scanned the property with his mage sight to see how many magicals were there. He sensed two powerful beings somewhere above.

He blasted the door open and entered. A women came rushing down from upstairs. He blasted her with full legillmens and found that the only adult in the room was her and she was a muggle. He cast an 'Avada Kedavra' and instantly killed her. She was mother of the mudblood Evans. He stepped over her dead body and proceeded to go to the nursery. Where he knew both the children were. There he could sense a great power. He was highly confused as one of the children was supposed to be squib. There were two presences that he could detect. One he could associate with a mage or even a sorcerer level child something that he expected anyway. But what baffled him most was the other presence. It was a power greater than his own. 'This presence was pushing even him! Such power!' he thought. He knew that it was not Dumbledore, and there were hardly many alive who could have such power in his opinion. It made him wary. He cast a see through charm on the door of the nursery and looked inside. There were two children in two different cribs containing one child each. Both were awake, one was crying while the other one was at the end of the room in a darker corner. He again looked with his mage sight to see if there was anything or anyone hiding which had that powerful presence. What he found shocked him to the bones, the first child Nat as he remembered the name from memories of both the muggle he just killed and that of Peter was indeed soon to be a powerful mage. Although his magic was not yet as strong, but it would be in times to come. His magical core was of the size of a fist but that was less than necessary to do accidental magic. It should be at least the size of a person's lungs. But what had him shocked was the other child. It was already a magnificent sight to behold. It could be compared to the size of the room, almost. His own core was almost the same size, but still less. He couldn't believe what mistake Dumbledore had made. Fortunately his powerful occlumency let him hide it very well.

Nat was still crying, he cast a 'silencio' wordlessly with a flick of his hand. Nat s noise was abruptly cut short. His mouth was moving but no noise came out. The other child giggled seeing this. He scowled to himself. Then he checked Nat's aura with a 'Aura revealio' and he could see a dense white light radiating from the child. He canceled the charm with a flick of his wand.

Then he turned to harry who was now looking at him in curiosity instead of fear which many other showed. He asked Harry with an amused smirk, "Are you not afraid of dark, child?"

But again to his surprise the child shook his head negative, which gave him the distinct feeling that Harry could actually understand the meaning of what he said.

Then the boy started to climb out of his crib. First he grabbed the edge of the crib then he somehow levitated himself out and slowly landed on the marble floor. Voldemort wasn't much surprised with this as he had already made the assumption that all the accidental magic that happened in the potter household was this child's, Harry's.

Then harry started to walk although still shaky due to his legs not being strong enough he looked like he was swaying like a drunkard which was very amusing as Harry was just a child.

While walking Harry almost slipped, he was almost to levitate the child but from behind the child dark shadows crept beneath Harry and caught his wrist, steadying him. Voldemort was once again shocked and he was having a feeling that it wasn't be the last time that Harry was shocking him. He almost dropped his wand when he processed what has just happened. He looked at Harry again to just be shocked again to see the darkness materializing around and beneath Harry and the child was giggling. Harry was lifted off his feet by the shadows making him shriek and giggle, he then started to hover in the air and move near him and Nat.

When he landed besides Nat, Nat promptly fell asleep. Harry started to again suck on his thumb but it seemed that he was also smiling. It was a cute sort of expression. Then Voldemort thought, 'cute?' and that made him laugh internally. When the fact of shadows helping struck him and sunk in his mind he started to think that he was definitely going to lose his sanity.

There was only one person in last millennia to successfully tie shadows to him, Salazar Slytherin. His ancestor. But even then he had only succeeded to travel through shadows. And that took a lot out of him. The procedure was a tedious one as well; you needed willingly given blood of a royal Vampire. That itself was nigh impossible to acquire. But Salazar had somehow done that. He doubted that if he could acquire that. These were beings in the league of the legends. They could, easily, match fey and High Elves in power, but they did not have a dominion like elves in dimensional powers and fey in power over time. Or that was what was known. It could easily be wrong as power over either light or Darkness is obviously a dominion in itself.

But it was obvious who the prophesied one was.

"I am Lord Voldemort child, and I need to confirm if you are the child of the prophecy." He said with a regretful tone.

He fired an 'avada kedavra' .

But to his astonishment, Harry removed his hand out of his mouth and touched the spell, the killing curse, but as soon as he touched the curse he grimaced. His hand was covered in darkness in less than the time required for the curse to work. And now the curse was collecting power in Harry s hand. He stopped the flow of magic from him in the curse.

Now the curse was a glowing sphere of dark energy. Harry soon brought his second hand near the curse which was again cloaked by darkness, and to voldemort's shock Harry started to play with it! He was throwing it up and down, catching it.

He thought that he had definitely lost his sanity.

Then harry looked at him and threw it at him.

It flew with an unnatural speed at him and he was still too stunned to act, before he could get out of his reprieve, he was hit by his own curse in the chest.

He screamed and screamed in pain. Something he never thought he would do. His soul was forcefully thrown out of his body. He had become a wraith now. He already knew. His body was now just ashes beneath him. His cloak and wand luckily had survived the backlash of magic.

He hovered near a wide eyed Harry and motioned him towards his wand.

Harry picked up the wand which has landed just 3 steps away from him when Voldemort had thrown it in extreme pain.

"Sorry ..." Was all that Harry could say. A lone tear trickled down his cheek.

A ghostly Voldemort gave a ghostly smile and nodded.

"Good by... young lord." He said. And his wraith form vanished through the sealing of the house.


	8. 08 wrong boy who lived

**A/N :** thank you for all the reviews hope u like this chapter!

**Disclaimer:** as always, HP verse is not mine, only the OC characters are mine and the new plots.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 8 : Wrong boy - who - lived**

Harry didn't have a very good childhood. His magic has granted him exceptional memory and he learned fast, really fast. He started walking when he was barely 5 months old! He was now over a year old. He could now understand most of the words and sentences that his mum, dad, and uncles used. He remembered every action of a person. He didn't know but for some reason everyone attended to Nat more than to him. Whenever he would ask his mommy to pick him, she would do so. But seeing this Nat would start crying. His mommy would immediately put him down and pick Nat. she would forget about him even when Nat had quieted down.

His father and godfather would always bring new toys for Nat. at least his uncle Moony brought gift for him once, a stuffed dragon. But even he forgot to bring him gifts from later on. No one brings anything for him now days.

His mommy reads stories for Nat and him, but when Nat falls asleep, she stops reading. She gives him a kiss on his forehead and tucks him in. but she doesn't do the same for him. She just tells him to go to sleep and leaves.

One day he had crept in the corner of the room where Nat was playing with his other friends. Neville and Ronald. His mommy and daddy were there also with some other red head people. They were talking and laughing, completely forgetting him. He really wanted his mommy to play with him, to read stories for him, to have new toys. But he didn't come out in the open. He silently sobbed there. There he felt it. His surrounding became darker. He felt someone touching him, embracing him, comforting him. When he saw there was nothing except darkness. It was all around him. A tendril of it shot out of the nearest shadow of the table and it turned into a hand. Purely of shadows, dark. It wiped his tears away. He was gently pulled lower from his standing position and then he was sitting among them. It comforted him warmed him. But he remembered his father saying that dark was bad, it hurts and light is good, and they are a light family. Then his mind decided that 'NO, dark isn't bad. Light is'. From then onward he would always remain in shadows. Play with them, sleep with them. Luckily he also had Mystica with him. She would play with him most of the time. But she would have to leave soon. He didn't like her leaving but she said she had to, and she would any way come back after some time. So till she was away, he would play with shadows. He didn't want anyone to find out about his shadows, so he had kept it a secret. Never telling anyone or showing. He would go to his family only when they called or he was to be fed.

Then today this new man came in their room. He was curious; he never had seen this man in his house before. He wore a black robe which almost faded to its edges. This man had an air of darkness around him. He looked at the man curiously at the man. But he wasn't looking at him but at Nat.

That was when Nat started to cry, they had heard some kind of noise a while ago and that had woken Nat. the new man scowled at Nat and waved his wand. Nat immediately fell silent, but was still opening his mouth in vain attempt to cry for mommy. That made him laugh. He put his left hand thumb in his mouth and looked at the man who was now looking at him in amusement. He had again waved his wand over Nat which caused bright white light to radiate out. Then he waved his wand and the light had died out.

The man had red eyes. Harry thought that they were very pretty.

The man then asked, "Are you not afraid of dark child?"

Harry thought over this and shook his head. He wasn't afraid of dark. Then he decided to go near the man. But he was inside the crib; he stood while balancing himself with the crib's bars. Then he levitated himself to the ground. He started to walk towards the man and he almost fell when shadows helped him and then surrounded him. They took him in air and moved where he wanted to be. The man's eyes were wide and mouth was gaping at him. It was making him laugh. Shadows were also tickling him. He then landed in front of the man near his brother. He was still trying to cry. His brother fell asleep as soon as he landed behind his brother.

The man then grimly smiled and in a sad tone said, "I am Lord Voldemort child, and I need to confirm if you are the child of the prophecy." Harry didn't know what prophecy thingy was. But understood that he wanted to confirm something.

Then the man shouted "Avada Kedavra."

And a beam of dark green energy rushed at him. He removed his thumb from his mouth and tried to catch the beam. But as soon as his hands touched the beam, he felt pain throughout his body and even deeper. But in the very next moment his left hand was covered in shadows and the beam of light was collecting in his hand and going bigger and bigger. The man moved his wand and more light stopped coming out of his wand.

Harry was getting curious, this light felt like a ball to him. He started to play with it, his other hand instinctively cloaked in darkness. He threw it up and down in the air and would catch it. Then he looked at the man and grinned. He threw the green ball at the man whose eyes were wide like tennis balls. The man seemed to be stuck where he was. And the ball which was changing its shape while in the air connected on the chest of the man. The man screamed and screamed. Harry's eyes widened, he didn't understand what was happening, the man Voldemort as he had told his name, was turning into ashes. His wand fell a few paces ahead of him.

Soon the cries of pain died down and where Voldemort once stood was a gas with eyes and mouth. He didn't really know what it was but had a feeling that it was Voldemort. The gas Voldemort gave a ghostly sad smile, and motioned him towards the fallen wand. He picked the wand and looked again at Voldemort, a lone tear trickling down his left cheek.

"Good bye, young lord." Said Voldemort gas and vanished through the sealing of the house.

Harry wasn't sure what to do with the wand, he requested shadows to keep it safe. Darkness rose from around him and covered his left hand which held the wand. When his hand was uncovered the wand wasn't there. He looked around in the room. It was in complete disarray. Part of the sealing was on the verge to fall. Fire was alight in many places. There was a green haze of sorts hovering above Nat. it was like the feeling of the beam he was playing with.

Nat woke up and started to cry in fright seeing the fire everywhere. A part of the sealing collapsed on the table containing their story books, and a few pieces of wood came flying in their direction, harry was quickly covered in a shield of pure darkness. It covered Nat as well. But when it was lowered a piece of the broken wood came through the haze above Nat and cut him on the forehead. A lightning shaped scar was visible on his forehead. Nat started to cry even louder. Harry put his hand on Nat s forehead and willed the wound to heal. He had done so before when he had once fallen out of his crib. But unintentionally the magical haze above Nat was absorbed in the healing magic that left his fingers. The wound was almost closed but it would never fade.

Nat's cries slowed down to hiccups. Harry looked at the palm of his left hand, there was a symbol of some sort, it was like sun, but it was black. It was a black circle in the middle of his palm and small black tendrils leaking outward from it. He went to sleep, tired due to all the happenings. Fire raging around them but miraculously not getting near them.

X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X

In Diagon alley which was now turned into a battle field. Whole alley was being destroyed many killed, many wounded. Order and aurors were trying to capture or kill the death eaters. 7 of death eaters were already killed and 9 were captured. How many of the order members were killed was not yet known. But they definitely had lost a good number. Same was with auror forces.

That was when suddenly dark marks of all the death eaters started to burn. Dolovov quickly checked. The mark had almost faded, only a dot and a thin line were visible instead of the skull and the snake coming out of it.

With a touch of his hand on his neck he silently cast a sonorous charm, amplifying his voice.

"Retreat Death Eaters" he shouted, as planned he quickly brought down the anti apparation wards and anti portkey wards. He apparated in the general direction of where captured death eaters were taken. He landed right in front of James Potter. James was stunned to suddenly face someone. Seizing the element of surprise, Dolovov banished James in an unsuspecting Black. He threw the emergency portkey over the bound death eaters who were piled in one corner. James threw a piercer in his direction. Dolovov quickly apparated out of the alley and appeared in the safe house where many others were being treated on their injuries. Just a moment later, the pile of the death eaters landed beside him.

"Tend to them." he ordered one of the healers who were walking towards the other direction. He could see two of the fallen having deep gashes on their thigh and right forearm respectively. The closest healer made her way towards the captured death eaters.

Out of the 57 that had attacked 49 had returned back, some when they were injured had used the emergency portkeys to get back to the base.

Once all were tended for their wounds, all sat in silence, waiting for further instructions from, Dolovov.

He rose from his seat and said, "Our today's mission was a success. I am sure all have felt the dark mark burning and fading thin."

A murmur of agreement was heard.

"Do not be worried, our lord is gone somewhere. He would not be back until by the end of next year." He said. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that their Lord would be coming back unlike what they thought to be bead.

"Now you all may leave except the inner circle members." He said. One by one people started to vacate the place, only a few remained.

"He isn't really gone anywhere is he?" asked one of the remaining when the place was almost vacant.

"Indeed, he isn't but he is." Dolovov said.

"How?" another of them asked.

"Today he had gone to confirm something important, but that has probably destroyed his body, he is a wraith now. But he will soon get his body back. By the winter solstice of next year." He answered.

"b - but how?" another of the men asked.

"That is not information I am privy to tell. You all may as well depart now." He said without leaving any chance for any argument.

While everyone was leaving, he said, "Make sure Snape is not aware of it."

Others nodded and then left.

X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X

Once everything in Diagon alley was taken care off, order members started to count their losses. They had in all lost over 17 aurors and order members. Deaths in the alley of the common folk were less than they expected. 27 were dead and 43 wounded. But none were seriously wounded. They all would make it out. When suddenly realization hit Lily, 'Voldemort wasn't in this big a raid, and Nat was still home, alone.' She gasped, 'Peter hasn't been seen in last almost a week.' She thought. She looked at James and mouthed 'Nat' his eyes widened as well. They both apparated back to their home. Seeing the distressed parents apparating, Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore followed suit. Lily was already tear - faced when they reached home, it was almost in shambles. Nursery was aflame although it looked like the flames were already dying out. They rushed inside, flames were everywhere. Dumbledore cast an "agumenti rivera!" with a few swishes and flicks of his wand and a pillar of water rose from the tip of his wand, and he drenched all the fire with it. They rushed upstairs inside the room. Nat was batting a dark black cloak and covered in ashes, that was the seen which they arrived at.

Lily and James quickly rushed to Nat to make sure, he was all right there was only a visible scar of lightning bolt shape on his forehead. Remus looked near the crib and found a sleeping Harry. He picked the child up and took him near the parents. He could see that the elves of potters were throwing water over the fires. Dumbledore again cast the same spell and subdued the fire.

Lily looked at Remus and the child in his arms. She widened her eyes about the fact that she completely had forgotten about Nat. She heaved a sigh that Harry was OK as well. She felt a little guilty about forgetting Harry, but she chalked it to her concern over Nat.

Dumbledore already knew that it must have been Voldemort. He cast diagnostic spells, and magical signature detecting spells over the ashes. The result was positive. He then closely looked at the cloak, it was of Voldemort there was no denying it. He closely diagnosed the scar on the forehead of Nat. It gave off a dark aura. Obviously he was hit by a dark curse. Further diagnostic confirmed that it was the killing curse. With some unknown powers, Nat had managed to survive the Killing curse. He checked the other child, Harry. He was fine and there were some very minor stenches of dark magic near him. Dumbledore concluded that it must be due to being in such a close proximity of dark magic.

Dumbledore then turned towards the concerned Lily, and beamed and said, "May I present you the Boy - Who - Lived, Nathan Potter!"

Meaning of it downed on the occupants of the room and they together started to make fuss over Nat. circling him in the air. All the noise woke up Harry. He was put down by Remus. He could see everyone celebrating something and joyously playing with Nat. He didn't understand why no one picked him up and played with him.

He remained there completely ignored, looking at them with expressions of need. Darkness started to creep near him, but he shook his head. And looked down, head bowed. Dumbledore sensed the subtle change in the magic near him. Like a power was growing close to him, but as soon as the feeling came it vanished. He only saw, Harry who looked like he was dozing off. He shook his head with a small smile. Considering that feeling to be just a feeling due to the day s activities.

A week had passed. Dumbledore called a press conference in ministry of magic atrium. Many reporters were present there. National and international alike. All Potters were there. Except the squib, Harry. He was securely placed inside the wards of Potter manor. Or so they pretended. Harry was currently in the company of Mystica, showing her the wand that he had gotten from Voldemort. He knew that Voldemort would need this to do magic like his family, uncles and the white bearded man, Dumbledore needed. But he had not yet told anyone about shadows, not even her. But she didn't ask him where he got it. They just played and learned.

In the atrium of ministry, Dumbledore stood on the main platform, a raised booth In front of everyone.

"Good afternoon everyone, a very good afternoon to you all!" he said. And a thunderous applaud rang through the atrium.

"I thank you all for coming here today. And also the fellow reporters from our fellow countries." he said with a beaming smile.

But his expressions turned serious, "we all remember and mourn for the loss that we experienced on the all hallows eve. But my people, it was a distraction, yes a distraction. For what you might ask. It was to target a child under the protection of fedilius charm. Betrayal happened, the secret keeper sold out his friends for the dream of power. But know that my friends, light shines always in the darkest of times. Dark Lord, Vold" - everyone flinches at the name, "- emort was defeated by the same child he was targeting to kill. It has already been checked by the dark mark of the captured death eaters and with the evidence found at the child s house where we found his body in ashes, that he has been VANQUISHED!" he finished.

A thunderous applaud followed his words.

He then turned towards the left corner of the atrium and said, "Please welcome the family of the child, House Potter!" and from the darkness of the corner stepped, Lily and James with James carrying Nat.

They stepped on the raised platform. Another round of applaud followed them.

Then Dumbledore said, "You may ask whatever question you may have for the family." and he stepped back.

All the reporters were eager to ask questions and they raised their quills in air. James laughed and pointed out one reporter and said, "You miss, what is your question?"

"Rita Skitter, from Daily Prophet, sir. How do you feel, being parents of the Boy - Who - Lived?" the reporter asked both the parents after her introduction.

... And the round of questions and answers continued for another 2 - 3 hrs. Sirius and Remus were waiting for them standing beside Dumbledore.

Once the question answer session was over, Dumbledore and the potters thanked everyone for coming, and the press was dismissed. They chattered for a while as they neared the apparition point outside the ministry atrium. No one brought Peter's subject up as it was still a sour subject. After reaching Potter Manor, they had a small party, but Harry lay forgotten in the nursery while Nat basked in the spotlight.

Dumbledore had already concluded, betrayal must be referring to Peter. Now the only unknowns for him were the other four of the prophecy. He decided that it would be prudent to start training Nat sooner than his 11th. 'Voldemort wasn't completely destroyed; he had claimed to have cheated death. And such claim was not to be taken lightly. And as far as the 4 others were concerned, i could, may be set up something? Who knows' he thought.

It has been 2nd birthday of the children; his mommy had forgotten to mention his name on the cake. But she had, with a flick of her wand made it appear. Many people who were present at the birthday party were stunned to know that Nat had a brother. People were guilty looking when they realized that they didn't have anything for him as a gift. Nat and he had cut the cake together although very reluctantly. It seemed that Nat didn't want to share his cake or his presents. But after another while or so, he realized that he didn't have any place here, he wasn't wanted. Not really.

Nat on the other hand, was smart enough to understand that people really liked him for some reason, and he was all too eager to bask in that attention. He had also noticed that his brother was not so well liked, not even mommy and daddy liked Harry as much as they liked him. So he didn't want to share it. He wanted all the attention. Why give some of his to his brother, when he could have all, his smart mind had thought.

The man with white long beard would many times cause him a weird feeling. Like he was trying to look into his head h would feel like something was touching his head whenever he looked in the eyes of the man, Dumbledore. He knew the name very well. Harry had decided that he didn't like this man or even his family for that matter, he wanted to leave but he knew he couldn't not until he could take care of himself, Mystica had told him as much. 'Light was bad, dark was good, all these people were **wrong**!' he thought.

He decided to become greater than everyone else. To show just how powerful he was. Every one said that Nat was so powerful, he would show them, how wrong they were. He asked Mystica to teach him and she smiled...


	9. 09 galvan potter

**Disclaimer :**this HP verse is not mine! but i own the most plots.

**A/N :**I am really sorry! I was unable to understand why most of the characters and symbols were vanishing when I uploaded the txt file. fortunately now I have found the reason! Hope that now onwards there won't be many mistakes as I had found in the old chapters, still trying to find a beta! Any suggestions?

Any way there was a plot hole where I had mentioned lily's parents dead in the first chapter, but I have fixed it now,

enjoy the story, hope u like it!

**Chapter 9 – Galvan Potter**

It's been 3 years since that fateful night. He would be 4 today. As always, there was a party being held, downstairs. 'For Nat, of – course.' he thought with bitterness and no less contempt. He decided to start learning magic, once he was four. That will be after tonight's 11:59 pm. He knew that darkness would also help him, but it won't be able to help him in broad daylight and especially in open. He knew a lot of magic already. He had already learned what little magic Mystica had taught him.

Flashback…

She had said with a smile "my magic and yours is different, young one. But I will teach you what is common until you are powerful enough to learn my kind of magic."

She had told him," Many humans need to use a wand to cast magic. A wand is the stick that you see your mother and father use to cast magic. Its making is complicated, you wouldn't understand it. But suffice to say that you can do magic without it. But a wand will help you a lot to cast magic and make it easier as well."

He had asked her in confusion, "Then can I use that wand?"

"You can, but it may work for you or may not Harry, it depends if the wand chooses you. There are some wands that are made so that they would choose whoever wins them. Like by defeating Dumbledore you can take his wand and it will choose you." She had said.

"But the best thing would be to do it without a wand. It will help your magic to flow smoothly through your body. But it takes a lot of time and patience, your body is still not capable of throwing a lot of magic out at once. It would take time child. I will set the pace of your tutoring, so when I say we stop, we stop and when I say we do, we do; is that acceptable for you, Harry?" she had asked.

He had nodded vigorously to it. She had smiled and ruffled his hair.

He had asked her with fear in his eyes, "Am I – am I a squib? I – I remember mommy and daddy saying it. What does that mean?"

She had smiled lovingly at him and said, "No Harry, you are far from that, far from a squib."

"A squib is someone who cannot do magic, and my little Harry can already do loads of it. Isn't that right harry?" she had asked him with a knowing smile.

He scowled at her for calling him little, but then smiled at her happily. She was like a big sister for him anyways.

After that she had taught him some magic. Like how to change someone's color, of living and non – living; how to make things levitate, how to force things to come to him, how to change something into something else, she had taught him how to cast magic without a wand and words.

Flashback ends…

In his musings, it had already been a while and night had fallen. He looked outside of the window and waited till he would be of four. At the stroke of 11:55 pm hall downstairs erupted in shouts of ''HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAT" and the chaos ensued. But little Harry stayed at his window… forgotten.

At the stroke of 11:59 pm Harry smiled to himself and looked in the darkness outside his window and whispered, "Happy Birthday…. Harry."

And then there was a distinct feeling which he got whenever Mystica came to him, appearing out of thin air. He looked around, eyes widening when he saw her.

"M – Mysti b - but how? You said you cannot be here during night?" he asked confused but still happy and ran close to her.

"Can't I come to wish my little Harry a happy birthday?" she asked with a small smile of her own.

"O - of course" he said, shocked but still happy that she remembered his birthday.

"Thank you for coming. But didn't you say that you can't come here all the time?" he asked.

"Yes. But was I here today Harry?" she asked with a mischievous smile on her beautiful face.

Harry furrowed his brows together in thought. He exclaimed "Oh!" when the realization dawned on him that she indeed hasn't been here all day.

She shook her head and asked with a smile, "So do you want to know what your gift is?"

Harry nodded vigorously making her laugh at his antics. She hugged him from behind and they disappeared without any noise, not that anyone would have noticed it as Nat's party was in full flow downstairs. Harry had the weirdest feeling like they were running so fast that everything was a blur. And it also looked like they were moving inside of a crystal. Sometimes he would see flashes of light as well. But it was over in no time at all. They appeared in a big room of some kind. He couldn't see clearly, he was feeling a little dizzy. He shook his head to clear the dizziness. Mystica let go of him while laughing at his reaction.

He again shook his head and looked around scowling at her. The room was filled with books, many many books! On every side of the wall every shelf was stocked with books. There were balls of light floating above him in air with some space between each. Lighting the path and revealing the titles of the books.

He looked at her wide eyed.

She smiled and said, "You wanted to learn, this is all that you can learn from just your ancestors. It is the Potter family library. Only you can come here. Anyone else would need to have your permission to enter. Even your family. Even if they come here they would need to have your permission to read and anyone that doesn't have your blood will simply fail to read anything."

"Do you like it Harry?" she asked tentatively. Harry looked at her with emotion filled eyes and suddenly, he hugged her. She hugged him back. Once Harry's emotions were under control, he stepped back. She guided him towards a desk that he had not noticed yet, when they reached there, she let his hand go that she had held until now.

She said "You'll get everything you need here on this table. Call me when you are done her, OK?"

He nodded with a smile and she vanished.

He sat on the chair behind the desk and saw that there was a single book on the desk. Now curious he dragged the book closer to him but it started making noise. Now confused, he carefully levitated it near him. He opened the first page and read the title 'Index book'. He opened the book and started reading first page,

'Welcome Lord Potter to the potter family library.

To confirm that you are the lord potter you'll need to give a test.

Once you are successfully confirmed, then you may proceed ahead.'

And the page turned itself. Next page opened, it did have several instructions written on it. He read them. 'Please place seven drops of your blood on this page and wait for seven minutes, this page will vanish and a new blank page will appear. Then the page will automatically turn and show you what branches of magic are most suitable for you.'

Harry was now wary of this book; he was supposed to put his blood on this page? But the offer of knowing what he would be best at was tempting. And anyway, Mystica won't let him be harmed; he could call her if required. He made a pointed and a bigger than normal needle appear out of thin air and it rested on the desk. He took it and made a small cut on his thumb it oozed his blood. He let 7 drops of his blood fall on the page and quickly moved his hand from above the page fearing what may happen if more than seven drops were put. His thumb got covered in darkness which rose from the floor and his cut was completely healed. Only a small dot remained where the cut was. He pushed his magic to heal the small scar. It promptly vanished. He looked at the page; it seemed that all the blood was being soaked in the page. After an agonizing wait of seven boring minutes the book shuddered, he looked bewildered, then the page suddenly got torn from the book and was somehow being shredded to pieces, then it simply vanished. A new page appeared, and the pages turned halfway across the book there were some instructions it seemed, he read,

'You are indeed the new lord of House of Potter.

Using this index is very simple.

Every time you open this book, it will confirm if it is you or not by your touch.

It will actually match your magical signature; it has now been recorded here.

Once you open the book, it will directly open to the entry page.

On the entry page, enter the name of topic that you would like to read.

All the books that are related to this topic would appear in front of you floating.

Their names would also appear on the entry page below the entry.

Touch the name of the book that you wish to read and it will come on the desk. You can call more than one book at a time.

If you are done with one book then touch its entry on the entry page again, it will go back to its place in the selection of books.

If you are done on the topic then mark a line over the entry of the topic, the books would go back to their places.

You can view your last viewed books by writing log on the entry page.

You can also view your gifts and talents page by writing GT on the entry page.

It will show you the previous list. This may change with age.

To have a new test, you may go to first page and do it again.'

The page then turned and showed a list title was, "Test Results."

Name : Harrison James Potter

Birth date : 31st July 1980

Age : 4 yrs.

Father : James Charlus Potter (biological)

Mother : Lilian Potter – Evans (biological)

Gifts :

Wandless magic,

Animagus forms (unknown),

Parceltongue,

Parcelmagick,

Dark magick,

Light magic,

Transfiguration,

Charms,

Occlumency.

Note : next test recommended after age 7.

As he finished reading it, the pages turned, startling him. It showed the last page, it was a man's photo, his eyes were closed. He looked very much like his father, but there were distinct differences like the man, even with closed eyes, presumably sleeping, was very serious looking. When suddenly his eyes opened, revealing a startling pair of deep blue, like frozen ice.

Harry was startled by it. He knew that moving portraits and photos existed. He had seen his brothers many of them. And of others as well. Slowly the man's face graced a lazy smile. "Welcome Lord Potter, the 49th. I am Galvan Potter. 1st Lord Potter of house Potter." He said in a lazy voice. But then Galvan's eyes widened a little, but he covered it quickly. A Lord test was passed by this child, obviously; else I wouldn't be looking at him. He thought glancing over Harry's shoulders to see if there was anyone else.

Harry on the other hand was in the awe of this man, for if what he said was true, then this man was the first Lord Potter. Mystica had told him that the reason why she was the only elf that attended him mostly and she looked so different from other elves was because of this man! She had said that only he can tell him about the reasons. Finally getting over his shock, harry said, "I am honored to meet you, Lord Galvan Potter, first of the House of Potter." With a nod. It was something Mysti – something he had started calling Mystica - had drilled in him. How to greet a Lord or Lady or a scion of a house or how a scion or Lord should behave. Now he was grateful for her, this man obviously was to be respected.

Galvan's smirk came back in its place. He had already accessed the page with Harry's test results. He was pleased to see that this – even though a child was well behaved. He had seen how the child – no Lord Potter, had covered his shock very efficiently. The expression was now neutral and impassive with a small smile betraying his excitement. Yes Harrison was good. But he would have to see just how good he would be. Such gifts at such a young age and such power.

Galvan then asked, "Do you know anything about the gifts that you possess?"

Harry shook his head a little and said, "Not all, I know about wandless magic, dark magick, light magic but not others. I also don't know the difference between magic and magick. I know a little about charms and transfiguration." He was also pretty proud of himself that he had so many gifts when his brother couldn't even do magic.

Galvan nodded at that and said, "Magic is something that needs some hard work while magick means you will be very good in that particular field. Occlumency is an art that helps you to protect you against outside influences, mind curses, fooling someone who tries to read your thought. The branch of mind magic which lets you read someone's memories or watch them is called Legillmens. Occlumency also helps one to improve his or her concentration and focus. Parceltongue is the tongue of snakes and the magic which is based solely on this language is Parcelmagick. It can only be used by parcelmouths – those who can speak the language. This is a rare gift to have as is natural occlumency at this age. There have been seven parcelmouths in our family that I know of. There are journals of each Lord Potter and the findings etc of other descendants that are deemed good. Slytherin line was known for their parcelmouth trait. This is a hereditary trait in them. Most of the descendants of that line possess the gift and can help you if you can find one."

Harry had been listening to Galvan with rapt attention. Galvan let Harry process the information.

After a while of comfortable silence he said, "Go to sleep child, meet me some time later." He glanced at the clock in his portrait wall and added, "It's too late in the night."

Harry nodded and the book closed and sat back innocently on the table again. He called Mysti and asked her to take him back. He slept with thoughts of what he might learn from his ancestor. A small smile tugging at his lips.

In the meantime, potter family were enjoying the party downstairs and had no clue what was happening in their own Library and were ignorant of it. Dumbledore had not been able to come today but had sent a box of chocolate frogs as a birthday gift for Nat.

Although the years had not been so very good in general, things were starting to fall back in place. Potters did mourn over the death of Lily's deceased mother who died during the attack. Initially they had thought that she might be somewhere under the rubble when they remembered about her. But later they found that she had been burned to ashes in the fire. Lily had not been able to look her muggle sister in the eye. Petunia that was her name, had attended the funeral of her mother and accused Lily of their mother's death. Lily had been a mess for a few weeks. It had been difficult for her to take care of Nat luckily she didn't need to worry over Harry as he was fine with elves.

Lord Voldemort, Heir of Slytherin had been resurrected on winter solstice of the very next year he had been disembodied. No he had plans, for the future of the wizarding world, for future of magic. For now he had decided to lay low. Deciding to not reveal himself to the public. Only his inner circle death eaters were informed of it. It was a ritual requiring sacrifices and a lot of pain along with being put inside a boiling potion. During the time he was a wraith, he had gone to Albania and traveled through the dark forest there. There were places that even he wouldn't dare go to unless in the peak of his health, both magical and physical.

But it had been a successful ritual. Everything had gone according to the plan. The only thing that now bothered him was a wand. He had tried many different wands but none gave him the feeling of power that his old yew and phoenix feather wand gave. He decided that he would need to have a wand crafted for himself. But that would be a while, till then he would need to use his spare wand. That he had brought so many years ago from knockturn alley.

He also had told his most trusted followers about a child of darkness. A child who could manipulate shadows and the darkness itself. He had told them to keep an eye out for this child he needed to meet this child but he remembered the prophecy, …..betrayed by his own….he knew, he had to wait and he had patience in abundance. They were also the only people who knew that Nat wasn't the true boy – who – lived, Harry was. He had found the thing rather insulting that Harry was said to be a squib, but then again Harry's family was betraying him, it was for the good cause to make people think that way, it would turn Harry towards dark. Not many people even knew of Harry's existence. He was fine with the way things were going, he decided to find something about the power that he had seen, something more than what he could get from his ancestors research. And he was going to just do that.


	10. 10 training and confession

**Disclaimer**: As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R

**A/N: **sorry for the late upload, real life has been hectic for a while now, hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**Chapter 10: Training and Confessions**

Another year had passed. He had turned 5 a few days ago. Currently he was trying to learn occlumency from Galvan.

"I don't understand it! Why can't I imagine my mindscape? Why can't I see anything?" said a frustrated Harry. He was sitting on the library floor. His legs folded and hands resting over his knees making a lotus position of meditation. It's been 15 days since he had been trying to find his mindscape but was failing. He couldn't understand what was stooping him. He was in the perfect state that he was supposed to be. His mind would easily calm down and he would reach the position where he could feel his surroundings with eyes closed. He could reach this state without closing his eyes. It gave him a calm state of mind. He could think with perfect rationality. He could easily recall anything that he had ever seen or the emotions he felt with the particular memory. Now he could discern what he had heard since during his childhood.

They had even asked Mysti to look into his mind. And she had with a brief look in his eyes said that there was a some thing visual but told that he would need to find what it was on his own. He had felt terrible pain in that single moment in his head.

Apart from his agonisingly slow improvement in occlumency he had not had such a hard luck in anything else. Galvan had taught him a lot of basic spells and he was very good at them. He would pick them up in his first three or four trials. Galvan had once said that it was due to his still undeveloped body of a four year old that he very easily tired out due to physical exhaustion. He had said that, "As your body grows, so would your blood. Your blood is what carries your magic. It is like a pathway through which our blood flows. The older the blood, more the amount of magic can flow through it. Thus blood is so much important. Your body is still undeveloped thus very less blood. But your magical pathways are far more developed than most grownups. Your blood carries a part of magic of your ancestors. Magic keeps getting stronger as you grow old. But magic is sentient. It knows that if it keeps coming only in old families, then those families would soon die out. And even we purebloods marry only in pureblood families, to make our blood even stronger. Thus magic keeps popping in some random muggles. But these muggles have their own ideology a set of right and wrong. For example, they would consider house elves slaves. They would either abuse them or out – right protest against it. But they would not try to find why they are as they are. It took your mother some time to process that fact as she was one of those who protested this. Luckily your father was able to convince her or we might have lost all our elves. If he had been the Lord." Galvan had sneered at that. "They need to understand our society. Instead of trying to learn it and adapt to it, they want to change it. Applying logic and beliefs of what they learned in the muggle world. Your mother was one of those who adapted some – what to our world. But most of these don't accept our world as it is. That's why most purebloods hate muggleborns. 'Muddbloods' that is what they are termed as. It shows disgrace towards which it is directed. They are born weak. Even if by any chance they turn to have enough mind they don't have power thus they are kept from positions of power. If our blood is mixed with these first generations then the children born will be weaker. That is why today's most so called light families have produced squibs, children who don't have magic compared to the dark families who keep to themselves and mostly marry either halfbloods or purebloods." He had added.

"Then why are we stronger?" harry had asked. He already knew that he was a halfblood. And Mysti had said that he was stronger than most and would soon become strongest of all.

"That Harry is because we had once earned a boon from god Lord Thanatos, one who takes life away, he is the ruler of Land of the dead. A place where souls are judged. Where their judgement is delivered. You must have read the story of beetle and the bard?" here Harry nodded affirmative. He had read that story many times out of pure boredom. "What is not mentioned in there is that, they were actually four brothers. Rohan Rovan was the fourth although he wasn't a blood brother to other three, but they had considered each other as brothers. He asked for a boon, that when his family would be actually having non – magical children, they should be bestowed with magic. It was granted. After the death of the first to brothers, they came together, and bound their will in their magic and through it their family under an order that first time when both families would have a male and a female heir, they would marry. They wrote the first book with their stories, but later the forth , Rohan decided that they should omit him as his family might come in danger from those who would sought out to simply destroy their family, and the boon would be a waste as it would never be called. So the story had only three brothers. Ignotus the youngest one and Rohan travelled through the world, they both had either male heirs or female heirs at a time. And their names kept changing due to changes in families, but the families remained close always knowing that one – day they would need to respect the pact made by their many times ancestors. The head of the family always knew of the true story. They would always stay in contact. That day came; I married the woman that was destined for me. Agatha Black, she had inherited the cloak of invisibility from her ancestor and I was a born sorcerer. Our marriage was not just in respect of the pact but we were actually brought close by our magic, fallen in love with each other. That cloak came in our family with her. Only the worthy chosen by Ignotus's family magic could actually use the cloak to its fullest. It is indestructible. Not even death magic could penetrate it and harm the user. But if someone unworthy uses it, it will act like a usual cloak of invisibility. A death curse or any for that matter would simply pass through it. I to protect the same legacy kept the old names hidden and created a new house, house Potter. My castle provides me with all the knowledge of my family that I need to know, like who is born or when how many heirs I have now, who died when, who married whom, their true blood status. And many things like that. I am here to help in any way I can, but I reserve the decision to help or not. " Galvan had said.

He also had once asked why Mysti looked different than other elves. He had been shocked to find that she was not just any elf but a high elf. Rohan who was there at the time of high elves and Fae roaming this world freely before they left had made a pact with a family of high elves or 'eldar' as they were called then. He had once saved this family's youngling while losing his own eldest son, he had fought bravely. But for someone like a fae he was no match. By the time the parent elves had arrived and he had the young girl secured, he had lost his eldest son. Fae then fled seeing the two older elves. That family of eldar Margre looked at the loss Rohan had taken while trying to save their child. Rohan had cried all night bending on his knees in front of his son's burning body in the pile of woods. Eldar Orpheus Margre bound his family magic to Rohan's. Every Lord of house of Rohan would have one of the youngest of House Margre as a sibling. They would grow together. But later on when the eldars left, they along with the current Lord of house Rovan, Lord Ashok Rovan decided that they even though can't nullify the terms of what was set by Rohan and Orpheus, they decided to hide the fact that they were still in contact with the higher beings and let it become a rumour thus no high elf was ever seen by the general populace. Never. Not even the heirs who failed to be qualified as scions were told of it.

He had confronted Mysti to know if she genuinely cared for him or not. For the first time since he could remember of his life he had seen a genuine and loving smile on her face, it was not the usual one that she had, of mystery. "I consider you my little brother Harry; we don't just honour our oaths with our action, but with our hearts as well." For the first time he had seen a tear trickle down her eye. He had given her a tight hug and had almost cried in relief that she really cared for him, and didn't do it just to oblige with the oath. His heart had been filled with joy. He couldn't stop himself from smiling for next few days. He had thought 'if only I had a mother.' He had already stopped referring James and Lily as his parents. On his fifth birthday he had slept with that thought in mind.

Somewhere in a land completely made of ice, a majestic castle of ice stood tall and proud. In one of its many spacious rooms lay an eternally beautiful woman. Her frame beautiful and perfect than what a mortal could describe. Her skin creamy soft flawless, a mixture of faint yellow and snowy white, emitting an eternal glow. Her purple hair matching with her purple gown. Her lips a natural shade of light purple having turned into a beautiful but small smile on her face. She suddenly woke with a gasp. Revealing her startlingly bright yellow eyes that slowly changed into a dark shade of purple with tints of yellow still visible in them. She first furrowed her eyebrows in apparent confusion. But then she lifted her left eyebrow delicately in the direction of the balcony in her room. Her confusion apparently had vanished as she again had a serene smile gracing her lips. She stood out of her bed of – apparently ice, and walked towards the balcony humming some obscure tone to herself. She soon reached the balcony. She looked in some general direction, her eyes this time showed the knowledge and intelligence she held; the knowledge that came with age and also exuded power. She lightly gripped the edge of the balcony. Her night gown hugging her tightly and the chill in the air not bothering her in the least. She let out a small chuckle which slowly turned into a full blown laughter, revealing a series of pure white teeth sparkling like diamonds. Whiter than snow falling down the sky if possible. Her head thrown backwards while an invisible wind played with her long flowing hair.

X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X

Harry had also mastered more than one language. He was already proficient in Sanskrit, French, Spanish and German. It was good that Mysti had started it since he was just 2 years old. Even with his amazing memory he needed to understand things. But it seemed that his mind was far more advanced than most and was able to process anything at a very fast pace. But he still had difficulties with something or the other like when he was speaking with Galvan. There was usually a hidden message in whatever he spoke. It sometimes drove him crazy.

Once again harry was trying to find his mindscape but was unable to.

"Tell me harry, where are you most comfortable?" Galvan's voice rang in his ears.

Harry thought over it and realized that he was most comfortable among shadows or the darkness itself. And then it hit him, 'a person's mindscape represents the place they find most comfortable.' "Oh" was all he said and he again dipped himself in his center. When he opened his eyes he was again surrounded by pure darkness. He was only able to see himself. He called for the darkness surrounding him, it slowly started to latch onto his hand and slither up. He willed it to correct his vision in the dark as any light spell cast simply didn't work last time. Slowly he could feel tingles running in his eyes though it wasn't uncomfortable. After a while he could see shapes starting to form in the distance. He could see a hauntingly beautiful manor standing ahead of him. He slowly crept forward. When he reached near the gates, they opened themselves. It took him a while to reach there as the manor itself was surrounded by what he could tell were widely spread woods. With only a single passage leading to it. The manor looked a lot like potter manor. 5 floors high and spread out through the fields. He opened the door by pushing it inwards. It opened without making any sound. After looking at the ground floor he was sure that it was potter manor itself. But when he got on the second floor…..well it was just huge. It seemed that it was some kind of library. Or more like a muggle laboratory that his mother often spoke while looking over the potions magazines. Silvery substances floated all around the place. But it seemed that they were in clusters. Whenever he reached a particular group he would feel a particular emotion. He touched one of the strands of the silvery substance and felt like being pulled somewhere. Then suddenly he was facing Mysti and relieved the time when he had confronted her. He was then again standing where he stood touching the substance as it slowly slithered out of his grasp. He understood that these were his memories. It seemed that his memories were already differentiated. He went on the next floor it was an actual library. Just as huge as the 1st floor, lined with shelves full of books. Although it seemed that it was not so full. There was too much space unfilled. He lifted one of the books, it was the current edition of Hogwarts defence against the dark arts text book grade 3. Galvan had told him that the standards of Hogwarts have gone down since the last of founders heir's disappeared in the sands of time. He had spoken with many of the lord potters till now and that information was enough to see just how much blood has been diluted till now. And apparently it was a lot. After all at the beginning of Hogwarts, there were two different groups taught, advanced and normal. Normal group comprised of most muddbloods and a few halfbloods. While the advanced one comprised of all the purebloods and halfbloods. What the advanced students learned by the end of their 1st year then is equivalent of what today's students learn by the end of 3rd year and that was excluding the exceptional students – young sorcerers. Most of these students were capable of some amount of focus - less magic – wandless as it is referred now. Although it never was at the level he could do…. Harry turned from his musings and climbed stairs for the 3rd floor. It was different. It had many rooms. He opened the first. It was identical to his room in potter manor. He looked around and the closed the door after stepping out. Then he opened the next-same. He opened every door and it turned that all rooms were identical. It seemed like a perfect place to hide his memories – the ones he wouldn't want anyone to find. At all. He rounded back and climbed on the stairs and reached the 4th floor. It seemed that it had some kind of thick door. He couldn't enter it. He tried to open it with hands and it failed. He cast most lock opening charms that he knew, but they didn't work. The blasted door won't even budge and every spell he cast felt like a stab on him. So he let it go for now. He turned up and reached the last floor. It was bare except a replica of himself sat in the meditative stance at the middle of it. He touched his mirror and he found his eyes closed. When he opened them, he was again in the potter library. Galvan (the index book) in front of him.

He asked, "so?"

"I found it! It was like potter manor itself is surrounded by woods, but the manor is a lot different outside bar the ground floor…." And he told Galvan about what all he had seen.

Galvan frowned a bit at the non-budging door part of his little speech but didn't interrupt. Once harry was finished Galvan told him in a far off voice that this door might be a way towards his magical core. But it is impossible to be sure as such things are reached by very few even among sorcerers. I was one of them but it is different for every sorcerer. For me it was like a falling through a series of tubes and painfully landing. It might kill one to reach his core or just their brain but it's as good as dead. So don't be hasty to reach it.

Harry nodded when Galvan's focus seemed to return.

Another month had passed it was nearing mid-September. Harry had started to sort his memories and go through them again. It wasn't a good experience. He had to live through the misery again. One of the memories was of his and Voldemort's first confrontation. One was when he had asked his mother why he didn't toys like Nat got. His mother had told him that Nat has defeated you – know – who. He had been confused. He had said he didn't know who. She had stiffly told him, "V – Vol – Voldemort, that's who." And left at that. After that and reading so many times in newspaper he had concluded that Nat had defeated Voldemort. But he knew the truth as he remembered that night. He didn't tell her anything as she had previously told him that he shouldn't be jealous of Nat for getting so many gifts. She had said, "You shouldn't be jealous of Nat, Harry. People love him for being a great wizard and you are a squib." He already knew what it meant but it wasn't pleasant to hear it from his mother saying this and be looked down by. It still angered him but he had decided that he would show them just how big a mistake they had made. He would make them feel the pain of loss that he had felt. He had shut most of his miserable memories in one of the rooms on third floor. He had stored them in the form of his family members and their friends. His room looked like it had expanded according to his need for the space but everything looked same. He had entered another room to find the exact change that he did in the previous room. There were replicas of his family and their friends. But they were blank. He could just feel it. He had changed the construction a bit. Instead of all the rooms in a square pattern, they were now in circular pattern. They would open any room he particularly wished for. But that needed his command and only his would work, though he had been very exhausted afterwards and just collapsed on the library floor for a while. He had similarly sorted his memories based on different emotions like happiness, curiosity, anger etc. he had then proceeded to separate his emotions from his memories; it made those silvery substances blackish. And another substance, white in color separated out of it. He stored these emotions in another set of rooms. Now he can call forth any emotion for any particular spell as it would require. All these activities had taken most of this month and he had very little time to do any thin else. But unfortunately his quota of happiness was far low to cast a patronus. While on the other hand he was sure that he could cast a crucio – the pain curse correctly if needed. He had used imperious on his brother to break a few of his toys, it had worked quiet well. His brother had been confused why he did it. But he had oblivated him and repaired the toys with a simple 'reparo'. His other training had been temporarily stopped. But he was now going to start them again. His language training had been going well. He was pretty good in reading between the lines. Although he would fail to win verbal bickering with both Galvan and Mysti. He had once asked Mysti about her birthday, she had said that she was so old that she didn't bother to keep track. Although he knew that she knew exactly when her birthday was. He had asked Galvan about this. He had laughingly told him that one never asks a girl her birth date. And had left Harry more confused than ever. Galvan had said that he would understand once he got older.

"Sire?" harry said.

"Yes harry?"

"I – I want to tell you something."

"Call me Galvan harry, and what is bothering you."

"I had hidden something from you and it is a natural skill I had since I was born. I can control shadows and the darkness around us."

"Huh" Galvan said with a raised eyebrow.

Harry sighed and darkness started to creep closer to him it lifted him up and a hand of pure darkness fading behind him reached up and caressed his cheek lovingly. But as soon as it had started it stopped. Shadows going back to their place and darkness once more settling where it was supposed to be. Galvan watched all this with wide eyes. Harry then told Galvan about the actual incident that took place on the fateful night of Halloween...

After a long silence past Harry's confession finally he said, "Its OK harry that you kept it to yourself. But good that you told me."

"You aren't angry?"

"Of course not, it is personal to you and you don't need to tell anyone if you don't want to."

Harry sighed; relieved that Galvan wasn't angry and wont ban him from the library. He had anyway grown closer to him.

"Well then Harry I want you to take animagus revealing potion when you are 7. Potion can be bought from Knockturn alley. You'll need to learn legillmency to get the information about the alley out of someone. You can easily find those to be hags. They wouldn't have any protection of mind but would have the necessary information. " Galvan said.

Harry frowned. "How am I supposed to get there? And I think Mysti can do that for us with ease." He said.

"Yes but we have a way to let the darker side of our community know that there is a true dark lord out, with powers that no mortal could really comprehend. We could try to unite them under you and it won't be that difficult, I think. But would also serve a purpose of alerting Voldemort of you coming out. If I am not mistaken, then he simply wanted to test something out and already expected you to survive. But your powers shocked him so much that he simply failed to act in time but he must have already prepared for it. He obviously didn't die; he might as well have gained himself a new body by now. Maybe we can take out a death - eater and try to find about his current location. But you have still got around 2 years to prepare before you go there." Harry nodded in understanding. And if by any chance something goes wrong Mysti could take him away with ease. She could stay with him for that time.

Galvan again spoke, "But unfortunately harry there is not much documented about your powers in here. But I am certain that there would be something about it in black library. They do have vampire blood in them and by extension so do you. It's possible that the suppressed vampire magic had surfaced. But even then it is known that most vampires can only travel through shadows. But you can obviously use them for other purposes. You should someday get inside the black library. You have black blood so it will give you access. There was no current lord black so you should also check if you are lord black as well. Lord of house black is chosen by magic not just blood. But I think you'd qualify."

Harry frowned but then got a bit angry. He didn't know where black manor was or for that matter if it was even a manor or castle. He knew that his godfather lived in 'Grimmauld Place' but he was sure it was not the black ancestral home. But then his eyes widened. He looked up at Galvan.

"Where is Black ancestral home, Galvan?"

"It is in Italy. But you'll first have to take your inheritance test before you go. Their protections are far nastier than ours here."

After another while of discussion over his physical fitness they decided that harry would do physical exercises which Harry groaned at.

"Galvan, is it possible to imbue our body with magic to make it stronger?"

"It might be Harry, I had never tried it, and I don't know anyone from my time or have never heard from any other descendant of mine."

Harry then called Mysti and told her as well about his power. But she in her usual way gave him a mysterious smile and vanished in the evening breeze coming inside of the library through the open windows.

That night harry had a dream, a dream of a purple haired woman with pale yellowish skin….


	11. 11 Another Potter

**Disclaimer**: As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R.

**A/N: **thank you for reading this story so far. Here is another chapter and I bring another character in the story. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 11: Another Potter

It seemed that Lily was once more pregnant with another child. A girl to be precise and was due on April 29th. His brother didn't seem too eager on having another sibling. Nat had seen it in his 'best mate Ron's house that younger ones were given far more attention than the older ones. Ron's sister Ginny always got everything better than Ron. New cloths, new toys everything. Nat did have many other friends, like Cormack Mclaggan, Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, and Roselyn Black – his godfather's daughter. Roselyn was 3 years old. Her birthday was on September 4th 1982. But she seemed to not like Nat and his little gang of band mates. Her mother was fortunately a pureblood. Mi-o-kha Black-Yen, she was taking care of her 3 year old daughter the way a pureblood hires should be. Mi-o-kha herself was part veela from the old Yen blood line in Japan, from what he had so far learned of the women. Sirius had fallen in love with her or so he thought. From what he knew of his godfather, it might be his mind succumbing to the veela allure of the beautiful women but then again she was beautiful enough that anyone would fall for her – he had heard people saying. But the women herself usually looked like she would be anywhere else than with her husband. He had had the fortune of practically meeting the women and they had gotten along just fine. He had treated her as a Lady of a Noble and Ancient House. He knew that she did pity him as she could easily see through the cheerful mask of the potter household.

But at the matter on hand, Nat didn't want his family paying more attention to anyone other than him. 'He had grown knowing that he had defeated the dark lord once and he might face others in future. Future of the wizarding world would rely on him in those times, and of – course on uncle Albus. He was the strongest man alive right now, man whom even he – who – must – not – be – named also feared.' Harry thought snidely. So his brother oh so loudly had asked for a promise that his mother would not start paying less attention to him after the new addition to the potters was there. Harry had been present there and had narrowed his eyes at the proclamation. Nat had taken the same promise from his father as well. They had then asked Harry to promise that he would take care of his new sister if they were unable to.

Harry had later on told all of this to Galvan. "You did the right thing Harry, although this house doesn't house people that you consider family but that unborn child will be completely innocent and probably go through the same treatment that you went, neglect. You at least had Mystica with you, but this child wouldn't. What if they forget about her on the times of her need? But by your standing beside her, raising her, it would be good for you both. You would have a blood relative to associate with your – self."

Harry had nodded at that.

Harry continued his training in magic and physical training. His trick of using magic to boost his physic had worked splendidly. But when he worked out he would constrict the magic in his every fiber and then work out. That slowly had made it easy for him to push more magic in his body. He had also improved in on his occlumency. He had started to build a big sphere around his mind's manor and the woods. He had completed the sphere now and was going towards the next step, putting it on fire. It was not going to be just fire; he was going to put hellfire as the first defense. The sphere itself was made of mithiril. He had also started to change the potter manor from rock made to mithiril made. It was good so that it will be impenetrable. It had taken most of his time to do so. But he had succeeded in doing that. Every nook and crook had been transformed. Also he had put a lot of magic to cover the manor so that even a mind attack that was like a breeze couldn't enter through any holes or so. Any type of physical illusion to attack would be stopped by mithiril. He had sworn that he seen some mighty creature rumbling in the woods and the surrounding mountains. Sometimes he could hear faint echoes there. But since nothing had yet attacked yet, he was certain that they were creation of his mind for sole purpose of attack on intrusions.

His schedule had been pretty fixed for every day, workout, and then his morning rituals. After that he would do his occlumency training. It would usually end up for another 3 hrs. After that he would eat something. Later play chess with Galvan. Chess was played while speaking on other things so that he could learn to focus his attention on doing more than one thing at a time. He had yet to win, but that was to be expected. He had yet not found any predictable pattern in Galvan's moves. After that they would study practical magic for some time. Mysti would teach him conjuration. They had first worked on making easy non magical and less complex conjuration. Now they had already moved onto animal conjuration. She would first give him a book on a particular animal's body. It wasn't much difficult for him to remember everything. Then he would try to conjure the animal. Then he would have to make the animal behave as it is supposed. As all this was usually done without a wand and words, it took time but he would get the hang of the thing in an hour or so. After that they would work on his defense and offensive magic. It was all without a wand even though he had one for use, at least for now. He was also taught potions. Galvan although not a prodigy, had been a potions master. He told Harry of different plants, their properties and other things he also had to study these materials as he didn't have any real specimen of these plants or animals whose parts were usually used. He had started to learn to cook as well. Although Mysti had been very reluctant to allow him to go near the kitchen as he was going to manually use the kitchen with minimum of magical use and other elves had not been pleased but agreed without much fuss after Mysti's warning of not telling anyone else. But even with all of this, he knew that he had little no practical outside knowledge. How battles were fought and the likes. There were some things that only time could give. Experience. So he kept on doing what he could.

A few months later….

Currently he was reading on one of the potion books. He was making his own notes as Galvan had advised him to do. That was when he heard a scream from downstairs. He already knew that his mother was expected today. He abandoned his book in the favor of going down stairs. Quickly tapping on the spine of the index book he asked Mysti to take him downstairs. Nat was at his best mate Ron's home today and James had been called by Dumbledore so was in the headmasters office. Harry flu called St. Mungose. He directly called his 'Aunt Andy'. She had unfortunately not been free in the morning thus was coming late in afternoon. But it seemed that she was late. When he called her in her office, she was shocked to see his face in her private fireplace, but had thought that he must have at least some amount of magic and thus was able to call her. Harry quickly told her about the situation pretending to be an innocent looking child, worry shown over his face. Andy quickly grabbed a bag and told him to leave as she would follow right after him.

When Harry was back he stepped away from the fireplace as Andy followed him a moment later. She then did a spell which released a silvery animal out of it and it rushed out through the walls. She then went over to Lily. She ordered him to stay out of that room. Soon James came tumbling through the fireplace, followed by Sirius, Remus and Nat. James was pacing in front of the sofa while Remus and Sirius looked at him in concern and Nat in annoyance. After a while Remus got closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder and said "Don't worry prongs it will be all right like last time." James just stood there and nodded reluctantly. Lily's cries were still audible. After a while they subsided and a small meager cry was heard. Everyone looked at the room's door in front of them.

Andy came out and smiled at the occupants of the room (bar Harry as he was standing away from others) and said "Congratulations James, you have a beautiful daughter perfectly healthy. Lily is OK as well but is still sleeping."

James smiled at her and rushed inside to see Lily. After reaching inside, he took a look at the tiny bundle of clothes in the crib and then turned towards the bed where Lily was resting. Baby was still crying in its small voice. Remus who had followed James took the baby in his hands. She still kept crying even after both Remus and Sirius had tried to console her. James then took her in his hands and tried to console her but it didn't work either. Agitated he silenced her with a wave of his wand. He then tried to hand her to Nat who just made a noise of disgust. Harry watched all this with Narrowed eyes and curled fists. Andy had already gotten back after having some food for herself from the kitchens. She took the girl from James's hands and gently tried to shush it but it wasn't working. It had already been over ten minutes. Harry crept out of the shadows he was standing in and got closer to Andy.

He innocently asked her "can I take her?" she looked at him and then gently handed his sister in his hands. He easily carried his sister in his hands and turned his back towards them and started to walk a little further away. He gently started to stroke her cheek and small black hair. He whistled a hauntingly beautiful tune, his sister soon enough quieted down. She opened her small eyes for the first time since she had been crying all the while, her eyes closed till now. They were not like their parents'. They were green, sparkling with life and looking curiously at him. Her mouth opened a little and made some sound which sounded like curiosity to him. He smiled at her, a warm feeling coming within him. Darkness from the corners of the room was getting closer to him. His eyes widened a bit and he mentally shook his head. Darkness reseeded back to its place. All the while the adults and the room watched how his sister so quickly calmed in his hands. He turned back towards them while he soothed her nerves with his magic through their touch. Nat had of – course already left for his room. Harry at last placed a small bit of magic under her ear by touch of his finger; it would alert him when she awoke. This went unnoticed as no one could really see it. He walked back to his aunt, while he muttered to himself, 'Calypso, Calypso Potter will be your name.' no one did really heard what he said. He handed her back to Andy. Then she started to walk upstairs warning others to not make any noise to which everyone nodded. Harry followed her behind. He stayed till Calypso was neatly tucked in. then he left for his room.

Next day everyone awoke bright and early. But harry had already woken twice during the night by his monitoring charm on calypso going off. At around 9am after having gone through his morning rituals, he walked towards the nursery. The door was open. Harry crept in without making any nose. He saw that Lily was already awake and looking at Calypso. She whispered 'tuny' to herself and nodded. Harry got the distinct feeling that it was something to do with his sister's name. He also had heard of his mother speaking of her own sister who she used to call by that name. Calypso woke up and started to cry after looking at Lily's face. Harry sniggered to himself. Lily tried to calm the girl down but wasn't working. Harry this time noisily got closer to Lily making her turn her head towards him. He picked his sister out of the crib, which had already started to calm down once she had felt his familiar presence.

Lily had been shocked to see that her daughter was more receptive to her son than to her. But once she got over her shock and thought rationally, well this was good as she would not need to look too much after her daughter. Her son, Nat needed all the attention he could get, after - all he was going to defeat the darkest lord ever to walk the earth. Dumbledore had said that Voldemort was still alive somehow and she trusted his judgment completely. If Harry was ready to attend to his sister then it would also be easy for everyone. She would be able to keep her promise to Nat….


	12. 12 gringotts, shopping

**Disclaimer**: As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R.

**A/N : **a big chapter hope you enjoy! And to those who want to know why a new potter is introduced….hint…..hint

Prophecy.

Sorry for the wrong age printed update problems you know, can't get a read before I update, but it's fixed! Thx Woef! For showing the flaw it's appreciated.

**Chapter 12: Gringotts, shopping, animagi potions**

It's been over a year he would soon turn 7. He had taken responsibility of Calypso on himself. He had cut his workload short while also making sure he didn't slack off. Dumbledore had come on the very next day of Caly's birthday.

Flashback….

"Good afternoon Lily, how is everything going on? Hope everything is fine." Dumbledore gently said.

"Yes headmaster, it seems that Harry had taken a liking to his new sister. We have decided to name her Petunia, after my sister." Lily said with a small smile and a faraway look on her face. Dumbledore didn't need to peek in her head to see what she was going through. It was obvious that she had wanted to make up to her sister who she dearly missed.

He gave a knowing smile as Lily shook herself out of the memories of the past.

Dumbledore had then checked Caly, taking her in his hands gently and said "She will be powerful Lily, maybe powerful than James even, but not as powerful as Nat."

Lily had smiled and looked at Nat who was playing with Ron and his toys.

She said, "Of – course, my Nat is most powerful after all."

Harry had been in a secluded area, looking at the scene unfolding in front of him with narrowed eyes. He didn't trust Dumbledore to not try to peek inside his sister's head.

But then unexpected happened, Dumbledore asked Lily about him.

Lily said "Oh he would be here somewhere. He is kind of shy. Doesn't come out much in public."

Dumbledore just nodded in understanding and then left. But Harry could see the wheels in Dumbledore's mind running miles per second.

Flashback ends….

He came out of his musings and gave a look at the book in front of him. It was on potions. He had done practical potion brewing as well. But that all had been done in Mysti's presence. He continued his studying of the dangerous plants and how to tame them, how to plant them, how should they be harvested for the proper ingredients. But he wasn't too focused on the book as he would keep musing over something or other. He was really excited about his animagi training but a bit concerned as well about his trip to knockturn alley. Other than that, his training had come a long way; his magic casting was very good. Usually he would practice in fun games with Mysti. They would through raw magic at each other thinking only of the purpose of it in mind. The beam of light that would leave his hand was usually a shade of green. They had to dodge the projectiles thrown by the other. He always lost. She was simply too fast for him. But she had said that he was as fast as a normal horse when he really tried and had really good control over it. She had also informed him that such a stage of physical health was not reachable without side effects which he had done. His method was actually very effective as he also had a lot of magic that ran rampant through his body. It was a good idea. His raw physical strength was also commendable. He could easily break a foot thick brick of rock. His senses had also improved a lot. He could now see clearly for about 400 or so meters. He could jump quite the distance. They also had done some serious training in which she had hurt him, a lot. But it seemed that his magical boosting of physical health had made him heal fast, very fast, very fast. But it still hurt like a bitch. His language training was also going well. His grasp on Hindi, French and German was as good as his English. They had made a habit of changing languages during their conversations. That had helped him improve his accent.

He sighed once again for the 59th time today. His thoughts returning to the beautiful women in his dreams he was tempted to call her mother. It was like he was reliving his childhood with her in his dreams. He could see himself in his small younger body of a year old, playing with her hair, trying to catch her fingers which would poke him every so often, causing him to giggle. Her tinkling laughter bringing a smile to his face. He wanted to tell Galvan about it, but felt it was too personal. Caly was sleeping in her crib, already a year old. He smiled when he remembered her first birthday.

Flashback….

Harry was downstairs today, it was Caly's birthday and even if he had to celebrate it with his 'family' he wasn't going to miss it. He was also on speaking terms with lady black and her daughter, so he would also have someone he could speak with. Caly was in her crib looking up towards the sealing which was charmed to look like night sky with twinkling stars. He stood close to her crib for a while. Party was almost to start. Most of the guests had already arrived. So he decided to go a little further away, he saw lady black sitting on the sofa near the fireplace with Roselyn beside her playing. He walked towards her as people began to crowd near Caly.

He closed the gap between him and lady black and said "how are you lady black?"

Mi-o-kha turned her head in the direction of the voice. She smiled seeing it was harry. She said "Fine, harry. How are you? And how many times have I told you to call me by name."

Harry smiled and said "of - course Mi-o-kha. Are you enjoying the party" he asked after a while with a raised eyebrow.

"As much as I can enjoy this loudness" she replied with a tired smile.

Harry started to play with Roselyn. It seemed that Nat wasn't interested in playing with her as she was a girl.

After a while everyone was standing near Caly's crib. Lily started to speak, "thank you everyone for coming here today it's a great pleasure to have you all here on Tuny's birthday – while she pointed out Caly – and enjoy yourselves." Then she picked Caly up while calling "Tuny- Tuny". Caly started to cry once she was picked and called Tuny. People started to try and calm her. But it made her cry even more. Nat and his friends were looking annoyed at the gathering of adults. Harry turned towards the gathering after he heard Caly's cries. He excused himself from Mi-o-kha and stiffly walked where Caly was in red head's hands another identical red head was poking her trying to make her laugh but failing and making her cry even more. Harry quickly got there and took her from the red head's hands. She started to calm down when she heard his familiar voice "Caly – Caly sush child" while he hugged her closer to him. Everyone was shocked to see her responding to her and the name he took. Caly looked at him and pointed in the other direction, tear faced.

Harry said, "It's OK they won't hurt you." 'I won't let them. I won't let anyone.' He said mentally. Harry started to walk away and sat on the sofa where Roselyn was sitting with Mi-o-kha. Slowly everything went back to normal. People chatting and all that. But the tension in the elder potters was visible. Their own daughter didn't respond to the name they gave her but to the one her brother gave.

Flashback ends….

It had cost harry a slap from his father 'for embarrassing him in front of others' and a severe tongue lashing from his mother. It was the first time that he had been hit. He had been in shock for a while. He couldn't think of anything at all. But soon after they had left and he had gained his composure. But it had made him angry at them, anger beyond what he had ever felt. He had simply wished to be far away from that place and the next moment he had been standing woods. That place was filled with large trees, many he could recognize from the moving pictures he had seen in his herbology books. Many of them were dangerous, some even man – eating plants. He could hear howls of wolves from distant parts of the place. His greater eyesight making him aware of the most movements around him. He looked up, not much of the sky was visible, but it was glowing purplish. The weather of this place was cold but comforting. The cold didn't really bother him. He just stood there contemplating just how he had gotten here. Then he remembered that he had wanted to be away from potter manor, after that darkness from within him had spread out and engulfed his entire being. And the next moment he had been standing here in the woods. He grimly smiled to himself. Something of value had come out of the encounter. He consciously willed himself to be back in his room the similar thing happened. He could feel the darkness in the area reaching forward to his being. It felt so comforting. In less than a few seconds he was back in his room in potter manor. His anger turned into cold fury and hatred. He took a calming draught that he had brewed two days ago and slept.

He saw himself in a mirror of ice and black edges which leaked and sucked darkness like it was breathing. He looked like he was a three year old, and he felt two hands gently closing on his eyes from behind which hadn't been there till now. He felt himself smile, "mother" he said lovingly. His 'mother' removed her hands from over his eyes; he saw her smiling tall frame in the mirror as she ruffled his hair making him pout.

"How is my child doing today?" she asked.

He didn't reply.

She gently turned him over and kneeled in front of him. He couldn't stop himself from looking in her beautiful eyes. She frowned.

"Someone has hurt my child they will pay." It was a simple statement and a promise. He could see the cold fire in her eyes, he felt himself go weak, and he hugged her neck tightly and cried. For the first time in so long he felt himself cry. His mother just held him and let him cry, running circles over his back to sooth him. He let her go and she looked him in the eye and said "winter's might will run rampant today."

For a while he sat in her lap while she ran her hand through his hair. She said "I want to make you mine harry, mine in blood."

Harry nodded.

"It will hurt a lot." She again said.

He again nodded.

She made him face her, his face showing calm determination. She smiled and took his unmarked hand in her hand. She opened her mouth revealing her pearly white teeth, three of which extended to small canneries. She put her other hand's palm on his forehead, soothing him. She bit on his palm letting his blood flow freely. It didn't really hurt him that much. It was like a prickle of needle. But then he suddenly felt himself convulse in pain. It was terrible he bit his lip not wanting to cry out in pain. His mother had bit her own palm and dropped a fair amount of her sparkling white blood in his now open wound. His wound was soaking her blood like a sponge. Then he saw it, she had a lone tear trickling down her right eye, she let it drop in his wound. His pain slowly started to subside when there was a sharp pain going throughout his body and he felt himself cry. His entire being was covered in spiraling darkness and pure ice lashing out on each other. His mother was unaffected by it. Slowly the lashing stopped and the powers that were battling started to intertwine with each other. He was inside a cocoon of those terrifying powers for some time. Slowly it became black cold crystal that surrounded him. Slowly he lost his conscious. "Sleep my prince, sleep. Sleep while the world quakes in terror. Sleep… Shadic" That was what he heard before he fell unconscious.

A few hours Later….

Harry awoke, startled. His dream has been really bizarre this time. He looked at his left hand palm; it still had the black sun mark on it. Harry then started to lift his right hand, shacking in trepidation. There it was! Three triangular signs in a triangular fashion on his palm. Connected by three thin reddish silver lines connecting the smaller triangles and forming a big one. He shakily touched the snowy white smaller triangle. It felt cold yet oddly comforting. Like his mother from his dreams. Harry's eyes widened. It meant that everything that he had dreamed till now about that women - no **his mother, **was true. H - He was reliving his life somehow through his dreams. He laughed but also wanted to cry. He was happy to know that he really had some who he could call as mother. Then he remembered what she had said, and that was when he started to hear screams from downstairs. His eyes widened. His mother was punishing the world somehow; he didn't know what winter's might was or what she really meant. He then remembered Caly. He willed his powers to take him near Caly. Instant later he was beside her. She was clutching her small blanket in her tiny hands and whimpering in her sleep. He didn't know how to stop it. So he just put his hand over her forehead and soothingly ruffled her hair. He felt his right arm tingle. He looked at his right palm, the tattoo was faintly glowing. Something made him place it over Caly and so he did. She immediately calmed down. He removed his hands and sighed in relief. He could still hear whimpers and cries from his parents and Nat's room. Their cries made him feel good for some reason. It was in some twisted way, good to hear his family bar sister scream and whimper like ponies. He cast a silencing ward around Caly's bed so that she won't be disturbed by screams. He walked toward the nearby window and looked outside at the spread out lawns. He could hear the howls of wolves and the misery that this night was causing. 'This is my mother's power' he thought looking at the symbol on his palm in awe. He definitely didn't want to face her anger. But he was confused as well. If she was real, why couldn't they meet in this real world? He didn't know, he didn't even meet her every day in his dreams. And he wasn't sure if he would remember much about this world in that dreamy state. The only thing he remembered when he had cried was that he had felt hurt. He sighed and decided to go back to his room.

Next day he awoke early. He didn't really need much sleep. He completed his morning rituals and crept towards Caly's room. He could hear voices from downstairs.

He didn't mind them and got inside Caly's room and took her in is hands. He then crept closer to the dining room. He didn't expect so many people to be here at this time in the morning. It was still not even 10 am. But it looked like no – one had proper sleep.

"It was so horrible. It was like I was having all nightmares I had since my birth." Lily said.

"Yes same here." Someone he hadn't seen before said.

"Ron was screaming about spiders all the time. We had to give him a dreamless sleep potion. But even that didn't work."

"Everyone dreamed something horrible." Someone out of his site said.

"I saw my socks trying to chock me to death." Dumbledore said. Everyone started to look at him skeptically. He said "what?"

Everyone returned to their thoughts. There was no wind but everyone seemed to be shacking in cold. Harry smirked to himself. His brother was sitting between both lily and James, tightly hugging his legs to himself. Mi-o-kha was there as well along with Roselyn and Sirius. She looked really distraught. Roselyn was hugging her mother around her waist tightly, fear still etched on her face. Harry pitied these two, the only two people he could stand in this company.

They sat in solemn silence while Harry played with Caly all the time. She had awoken already and probably had forgotten about her nightmares.

"What could have happened Albus? So many people having nightmare can't be a coincidence." Alastor Moody asked in his gruffy voice.

"Alas, I know just as much as you do. I haven't heard of any such magic that would cause fear in so many people at once. There are spells which can create fear in someone. But I am sure that no – one cast any such spell on me."

Harry left them at that and went in the library with the help of darkness. He conjured a small dragon that flew around her head and nuzzled her, poked her ever so often causing her to giggle and clap. He was reading about intent based spells. Those based on light feelings, like love, affection, happiness. He had tried a patronus spell a few times already. But unfortunately it wasn't working properly. He could only produce wisps of silvery mist. He had tried different memories. But they didn't work properly. That was when he heard Caly call "awwy". He snapped his neck in her direction. He rushed to her and picked her up. "What did you say Caly?" he asked her wide eyed. "awwy" she said again with her tiny nose scrunched up. Harry was feeling happy, so very happy that he started to spin her in circles making her shriek in excitement.

He used this memory along with the one when he had first time held her in his hands and the love and joy he felt with his mother, when he played with her splashing the darkness over each other like it was water, and he bellowed "EXPECTO PATRONUM" a dim dark grinish light shot out of his palm with the mark of winter on it and it in front of his eyes and started to take shape. But it wasn't as it used to be before. It was not silvery. It turned into a four legged animal resembling a cat. But a very bigger and menacing one. He knew what it was, a nundu! He was shocked to see this but to his surprise, it started to take a look at the room trying to find any threat to its caster and returned back in front of him. Its paws making an audible noise as it walk closer to him. He put Caly behind him and touched the cat with his other hand. He could feel the solid head of his patronus. It was real. Caly unknown to him crept from between his legs and came in front of the nundu. She started to pat I on its paws giggling "kitty, kitty" while he looked shocked at the nundu who just rubbed its nose on Caly's forehead making her giggle. He was shock but relived that it didn't hurt her. Its long arrow headed tail was swinging left and right behind it. He let the spell go and the nundu slowly started to dissolve in the air causing Caly to make a surprised shriek. Yes, the day was definitely good.

The day had come he had to go to Gringotts today and do the inheritance test. He was already Lord Potter by magic and blood but had yet to be accepted by magic of house potter. It wasn't going to be till his 13th or 15th but knowing him it would be sooner than later. Normally final inheritance and magical acceptance of the house magic happened on 17th but in case of lords, it happened on 15th and in some very rare cases 13th. Pity he couldn't kick out his family from the potter manor till he was 13 at least, he thought.

Today he would be 7. He had to buy his animagus potion. He decided to purchase a good amount of clothes for himself and Caly. His parents were going to buy a wand for Nat tomorrow with Sirius and Remus. He also wanted to see just what kind of wand suited his brother. He also wanted to find a wand for himself, but it wasn't time for it. He had practiced his legillmens on his unsuspecting family. To see how well he was at it. Initial practices were done with Mysti until she deemed him adequate to perform it on others. Sometimes they felt an itchy feeling when he wasn't subtle enough and they would rub their heads that let him know he was not doing it correct. His brother was perfect for it. He was now easily able to pass through even James's shields that as an auror was taught basics of occlumency in his currier. James obviously hadn't taken it any further. He hadn't dared try it on Dumbledore after Dumbledore had looked in his direction when he had tried. He had promptly vanished in shadows before Dumbledore could catch him.

Harry made Caly fall asleep with a touch of his fingertips on her forehead. He put some glamour charm to obscure his face and wore one of the cloaks that Mysti had brought him. He wore it as Mysti became invisible to others and she took him near a rundown alley close to Gringotts by dimensional teleportation. It was around 11 am in the morning and there wasn't a very big crowd in the alley yet. He turned left from the opening of the alley and looked at the entrance of Gringotts. He read the warning written on the left side wall and smirked to himself. Goblins unlike what most believed as greedy back stabbers, were in fact a proud race of warriors. They respected power and were all for battle honor and glory. He had learned a few gritting's to make while dealing with goblins. But he also learned that respect was given only to those who had earned it. Like the senior account managers and bank head of the branch. Or the leader of goblin nation who lived in the city built miles beneath the surface of earth.

He purposefully strode towards the bank. His face calm and cold. He took a look at the axe bearing guards standing on both sides of the doors and didn't pay them another glance. He knew one thing though; goblins and dwarves were very good at enchanting and forging weapons of great strength. He entered the circular white bank. It was a lot bigger inside than it was from outside. 'Space expansion enchantments' he thought.

He approached the nearest teller and said "I need an immediate audience with my accounts manager."

"And who you might be, wizard?" that teller snidely asked.

"Watch your place teller, I am Lord Potter." Harry said while letting his dark aura loose, his eyes an eerie shade of green, glowing from the power within.

"O - Of course" the teller said and motioned him towards one of the backdoors as he jumped off of the stool he had been sitting.

The goblin made a gesture for him to follow him. He did so. After a while of going through a few tunnels he was lead towards an oak door. The goblin knocked on the door twice and it flung open. He entered inside the cave/cabin where a goblin sat behind a desk made of obsidian – if he was correct. The other goblin introduced him to the manager and the manager to him. Griphammer was his name. He gave a short bow to the wide eyed goblin that quickly covered it, though Harry's trained eye caught on it. "May your gold always flow and your blades always stay sharp."

Griphammer returned the gritting in similar way. "How may Gringotts help you today Lord Potter?" he asked.

"I need to know about my total possessions and monetary assets." Harry said.

"Of course, but you would have to go through a blood test to prove that you are who you claim to be." Griphammer said while he removed a bowl from beneath the tabletop.

"Of course" Harry said smoothly. He conjured a dagger with a wave of his hand and cut his palm and let 3 drops of blood fall in it. It was expected of him to do so. His cut was automatically healed as soon as it was under the alert eye of the goblin so that he couldn't see how it healed.

Then the goblin put a parchment in the bowl and removed it after a while. It had his name written on it. The goblin nodded to himself. Then with a wave of his hand, the bowl vanished along with the parchment after it had been burned.

Then he looked at harry and said "You are indeed who you say you are, Lord Potter."

"I would immediately bring your account details" he added and barked some commands at the wall behind him in gobledegook – language of goblins.

A scroll of parchment appeared on the desk. Griphammer slid it towards him. Harry took it and opened it. He looked it over. Overall he had a hefty amount of money in his access vault which he could access it was filled with 10000 galleons every year since his birth until he came of age or received his lordship. Out of the total amount that should be 60000 galleons 25000 had been removed till now. These were accessible by the guardians of the minor as long as they were magical. Harry narrowed his eyes. Now he understood where so many gifts for Nat came from, where all the new flourishing of the manor came from. Nat's account was completely used. Harry knew that he could stop all this. He could stop them from removing money from his or any accounts. But he decided otherwise. He'd simply removed the amount that he needed out of his own vault. Main potter vault held a lot more amount than that. It was near 50,893,264,112 galleons, 87,459,710 sickles and 47,520,489 knuts and ever increasing. But unfortunately he couldn't access that until he inherited the signet ring of Lord Potter. But there were Loop holes, he could increase the amount to be placed in any vault or decrease it. It was again unfortunate that he didn't have that signet ring, as that was only way to visit the vault which held Potter assets. It could only be opened by a lord potter and even then, only if he had the signet ring. He knew that there were some precious items and artifacts that had been lost to time as well as some manuscripts written by Morgana la fey – the well-known darkest sorceress ever. It was a vault combined from the generations since Peverell brothers and Lord Rovan. Goblins were a species that had lived through ages old. First as orcs then as goblins. They were descendants of the Orcs. They have lived even before the time of merlin. Their knowledge of history and old magic was beyond that of any. But luckily for harry, he had a source of information that was greater than any possible as far as history and old magic were concerned. Other than that he also had several properties Potter Mansion in England, where he lived. They also had longer lifespans than even wizards. It's said that a goblin lives for around 400 to 500 years. Elphias sanctuary for magical beasts in France. Around 78 acres of farm field in India, Asia. There were some properties given on lease in England. Madam Malkin's rob shop in Diagon alley, Den's apothecary in Diagon alley, Medevin's book shop, in knockturn alley. There were some investments in muggle side of the world as well.

After a while, Harry asked "I would like a way to withdraw money from anywhere I wish, is that possible?"

Griphammer nodded and said "It is. I will give you a pouch which will turn into a muggle purse if you live the wards surrounding the magical settlement. You but have to think of the amount that you wish to withdraw touch the seal and it will appear in the pouch. It is completely secure as it will be bound to you by blood and your magical signature. It won't be taken off of you unless you give it to someone willingly. If stolen in muggle area then it will return in the bank. To withdraw in muggle areas it's the same process. If you wish for muggle currency then think of it and touch the seal on it, the money will appear. Conversion rate keeps varying. Currently it is 513 pounds per gallon. But it will cost you 73 galleons and 7 sickles to acquire it."

Harry had not known the exchange rate till now. But he knew the wizarding exchanges. A galleon was 61 sickles and a sickle was 37 knuts.

Harry nodded to the goblin and said "That is acceptable."

Griphammer nodded in return and muttered something in gobledegook and a leather pouch appeared on the desk.

Griphammer looked at harry and gave him a dagger that he drew from under the table.

"Drop seven drops of your blood on the seal." He said.

After another few moments he had gotten himself a pouch to retrieve any insane amount of money he needed.

"I would also like to take a blood inheritance and magical ability test at the earliest possible." Harry stated.

"Tomorrow is possible if you would like?"

Harry nodded in accretion.

"It will cost you a sum total of 8309 galleons 43 sickles and 17 knuts."

Harry nodded in acceptance. With that he concluded his business at Gringotts and left the bank with proper departure greeting to his manager.

When harry stepped out of the bank it was already 2 in the noon. He decided do some shopping.

He took a look inside a bystander lady's mind and found the rout that he would need to go through to get to madam malkin's robe shop to buy him a new wardrobe. He entered and politely smiled at the young girl, may be still in her twenties, she welcomed him.

He politely smiled and asked "I need a full wardrobe would you be able to complete it by tomorrow 7:00 in the evening?"

She looked at him with eyes wide and asked "Shouldn't your parents be here child?" she asked.

Harry's eyes turned colder and he asked "will you or you won't?"

She stuttered a bit and said, "O – of course."

She started to take his majors and note them down with a quill. It was done in less than 10 minutes.

She looked at him and asked "what would be your preferences?"

"I'd like three outer cloaks, nine everyday robes, four ball robes and five night dresses. I would like complementing pants to these as well; I would also like to have them made of the finest material you can provide. Each outer cloak should have a different color; dark blue, black and dark green. I would also like them to have trimming of gold and silver intertwined. Everyday robes should be of the similar material as well; they should be in the similar colors as well, three of each. Make the ball robes as lavish as you can. Night dresses should be as light as they can be but just as elegant and breathe taking. "

"Pants should be of similar material as well and just as fitting to other upper garments. They should grow or shrink, depending on the wearer's size by 1'3" of growth at most and 3" of shrinking. And they should be feather light." The magically enchanted quill was furiously writing down every word he spoke. Finally it stopped. After that the girl he had not bothered to ask name turned to him and asked "It will cost you a total of 4709 galleons and 19 sickles. The material we would use is thestral tail hair and acromantula silk along with dragon hide of a Hungarian horntail."

Harry nodded and said "I will pay 2000 galleons now and rest tomorrow when I come to pick up my purchases." While he took out his pouch and thought of the amount. He then emptied the contents on the desk. The girl then collected the money, eyes still wide. With a nod Harry left with a warning to keep it a secret. It was just his luck that no-one had come in till now in the shop. He didn't buy anything for Caly here as it would greatly reduce the suspicion list once the matter got out. There weren't many who could afford such things. And certainly didn't have someone as young as Caly with them. Only purebloods or half-bloods were rich enough to spend so much on just cloths. Knowing that this young person (he) who bought so much clothing had a sister so young would easily give out where to find for him. Even though he had been under glamour, he could always be more careful.

He then neared an alley and disappeared while Mysti's invisible hand held his. They appeared inside potter manor. Harry got inside Caly's room and took a look over her. Then he got inside his room. He decided to study till dinner time. He picked up a book on mind magic named 'depths of mind'.

He read this book till 9 in the night after which, Mysti made him eat his dinner. He ate lightly. He had started to feel uneasy. His magical surge was obviously going to cause quiet a ruckus. He decided that he would rather be in the woods during the time. He asked Mysti to take him there, not in the mood to exert his energy as it was already starting to get turbulent. He knew that Lily was at least taking care of Caly and couldn't really forget her after the incident in her birthday. So he wasn't too concerned about it. Party for Nat's birthday was going to be held early instead of in night. For he was also going to have a surge today. They had 3 rooms specifically made for this purpose in the manor. Nat was going to be in the one. But to keep himself hidden Harry had decided to go outside.

Mysti took him outside in the woods. They were probably near the middle of the woods. She put a barrier of enormous power surrounding him. She converted a nearby boulder into a bed and he slept on it. Not wanting to be awake when he had the surge and had to go through the pain. At the stroke of 11:59 pm his body was covered in the gigantic black crystal as it lashed out at everything nearby it. Harry's body convulsed in pain, worse than anything he had felt. It felt like all his muscle were being ripped apart and grown again. The black crystal his magic expanding, sending tremors through ground as it did. But thankfully the protections cast by Mysti held although even she was struggling to contain his wild magic and that was to say something considering she was a high elf. The transfigured bed he had been sleeping on had already disintegrated long ago. He was inside the cocoon again. Crystal that represented his magic had grown in leaps and bounds. It had started to change its shape a little. It was now a big crystalized sphere shining in the moon light. It had started to sprout small spike like extensions on every face. Slowly Harry's breathing became deeper and normal. His magic that had expanded out of his being looked like it was being sucked inside his body again as it bent in shape and twisted. It suddenly got sucked inside him and he let out a gasp as his body started to fall down from where it was hovering in air till now. He was though saved from the collision with ground by Mysti as she levitated him near her and took his hand in hers. They vanished in out of sight and were back inside the wards of potter manor. Party had already ended as there was no sound coming from downstairs. As soon as they had vanished from the woods, a loud boom was herd throughout 7 miles radius. The suppressed power of the destruction that had been caused by Harry's magic suddenly being released.

Next day Harry awoke. He was in his room. He felt sore all over. Although luckily not much. He remembered how much pain he had felt last night and for someone whose body was so developed, it was saying something. He took a quick shower and got fresh. He met with Galvan and told him about the proceedings. Galvan had laughingly said that Harry would never seize to amaze him. He went down stairs to have lunch as it was already 6 pm in evening. He had a full lunch and got back to his room. He decided to go back to Diagon alley and take his purchases.

He vanished in shadows and appeared in an alley behind olivander's. He had seen his tired but eager looking brother getting ready for his wand purchase. He changed his facial features to match that of his yesterdays and made his way towards the robe's shop.

He could hear a tinkling bell as he entered the shop. He saw the same girl from the day before who looked at him and gave a brilliant smile.

She came near him from behind the desk and said "Your all purchases are ready. Madam malkin has been very tired after that thus she couldn't be here to show them to you personally, we are sorry for that."

"It is all right, I understand." Harry said with a small smile.

The girl handed him his purchases. He took them and examined them and smiled in satisfaction. He poured the remaining amount for her in an expanded bag that she gave him. He gave her another 60 galleons extra and said with a smile "please accept this as a small token of appreciation from me; I know the timeline I gave was quiet tight."

She accepted the money and thanked him repeatedly for his generosity and also gave him the private flu address of the shop along with her name – Amanda moore. A half-blood relative of madam malkin who was learning under her great aunt. After that Harry put his purchases in his magically expanded pockets. He then made his way towards Gringotts. He entered the bank. He made his way towards the same teller that he had met yesterday who immediately made him to follow him towards the manager's office. Harry entered. He greeted Griphammer and after the greetings Harry asked if everything was ready. Which he got an affirmative answer to. After that they proceeded for the ritual chambers. There he was made to take a potion and wait for 7 minutes and 7 seconds. After that he had to give seventy seven drops of his blood and was given a blood replenishing potion to get over the blood loss. Then the blood was poured on a big green parchment. It was completely absorbed in the parchment. Then the goblin muttered a few words under his breath. And the parchment showed a few names. Names of great houses to be precise. House Peverell, house Rovan, house Gryffindor, house Potter, house Morvin, house Black. These were the Houses that Harry was going to be the lord of. He was really very pleasantly surprised with the last one. He hadn't even thought of house black's lordship for the main line was yet active. If he were to reveal these all then he would have quiet the power in the wizengemot. But then again House Peverell and house Rovan were not needed to be revealed. Other three houses would bring him enough power anyway. After getting over all this, he was led to another room where he had to wait 40 minutes to let the last potion's effects subside. Then he was made to drop seven drops of blood on a parchment. It showed similar pattern that his test in the index book back at the Potter manor had shown so many years ago.

Name : Harrison James Potter

Birth date : 31st July 1980

Age : 7 yrs.

Father : James Charlus Potter (biological)

Mother : Lilian Potter – Evans (biological) ; (unknown) by blood and magic.

Gifts :

Wandless magic,

Animagus forms (unknown),

Parceltongue,

Parcelmagick,

Dark magick,

Light magic,

Transfiguration,

Charms,

Occlumency,

Legillmency,

Mage sight,

Photographic memory,

Runes,

Arithmency,

Elemental p8House Rovan;

House Peverell;

House Black;

House Potter;

House Gryffindor;

Harry looked at the manager with narrow eyes. He himself already knew what the unknown was. But then again he didn't know her name nor did he need to, really.

He said "I hope our all transactions stay hidden from any other soul master goblin."

The said goblin simply nodded. If their potion couldn't detect who it was then it was better to not even try to find. It must be an entity that they didn't really know of and there were only a few but they were too dangerous to go behind them in curiosity.

To say that harry was impressed with himself was an understatement. He had not expected so many new abilities. But then it made sense. His magic had adapted for what he had wanted to improve. As well as some could be related to his new mother. He took both test results and changed in his black robes and stepped out of the bank. He then made his way towards knockturn alley.

As soon as he entered the alley he could feel Mysti's presence. He was confident that he would get out of anything as long as she was here. But he also wanted to do everything on his own to the perfection. It was already dark and night was young. He took a deep breath and let the restraint over the shadows that he had loose. He started to walk forwards deeper in the alley. As he started to walk, darkness and the shadows started to get closer to him. His black outer robe was soon covered in pure darkness of the night. Its edges looked like the shadows itself, leaking on the brims. It looked like it was sucking all the light from the general area around him was getting sucked towards him. it gave him a lot of attention. Though as he had already pulled over his hood and shadows themselves were helping him protect his identity, he didn't even need to use any spell to obscure his face. The only thin visible under his hood was his eerily glowing green eyes. A hag was sitting near a corner not far away from him. he made his way towards her. The hag looked too terrified of him to do anything and probably wet her knickers. He strode towards the now whimpering hag and looked her in the eye. He easily tore in her mind and got the complete knowledge of the alley that she held. It was now a small walking distance between him and his intended shop.

While Harry was walking towards the shop that was not but a few turns and twists away, news of someone who could possibly control shadows like his cloths spread throughout the alley. Bella, Lucius and another person with them were in a pub when they heard this news. Bella and Lucius's eyes widened while their companion frowned. He was send as an agent of Corvun clan to discuss over details of the alliance they were to form with the dark lord. They decided to speak over the terms later but first to see just what is happening outside.

Harry had by now already entered his destination – "Exotic Potions". He felt some wards trying to analyze him but he just crushed them and only the protection once stayed. The owner of the shop had felt the tremor of the collapsing of the wards and he came rushing to the door, wand in hand. When he reached the door he stopped in his tracks. Harry was truly looking terrifying in this guise of his. The bald looking brown eyed man was trembling at the sight of him.

Harry but raised an eyebrow and said "Do you raise your wand over your every customer?" it was a rhetorical question. The man realized that Harry was here for business. But the sight of him gave the old man a feeling that he better not mess around.

He lowered his wand and said "Forgive me my lord, how may I help you?"

"I need an animagi potion." Harry said.

Harry looked at the man who nodded and left in the backside of the store. He came back with a small vial of the substance with him. Harry checked it for any faults. It seemed to be adequate. He gave the man a glare. The man squirmed in his place in front of the barely 9 looking form of him.

He said "it is the best quality you'd get here and is as good as the one given by ministry. Only 1500 galleons."

Harry narrowed his eyes into slits and said "970 galleons no more." In a hiss like voice. The man simply nodded. Harry had practiced his parcelmouth ability to a length that he could speak altering between any human language and the snake tongue. Harry left the man after paying and stepped out of the store as he put the potion in one of his pockets. As he stepped out of the door, he sensed three people coming in his direction. He waited for them patiently to reach him he had seen who they were. At least two of them, Lucius and Bella; he had many times over the years seen their faces in the prophet. He could make out the distinct features of a vampire in the third one. Fortunately for him he could see through their shadowed hoods but they couldn't.

When Bella and others had left to search for this person they had to threaten many to give information where this person went. They finally reached near an apothecary which also sold illegal potions. They saw someone the size of a 9 – 10 year old child leaving from the store as the darkness clung onto him.

Harry had gotten excited at the prospect of meeting these two here, what a co – incidence indeed. Now he had a chance to meet Voldemort. He turned towards them and made his features go blank. He readied himself for anything. Attack, escape anything. He wasn't really sure what they were here for. But a look in Bella's mind showed curiosity and excitement. He prepared for the verbal banter that was to follow.…..


	13. 13 Voldemort

**Disclaimer**: As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R.

**A/N: **sorry for the late update readers and the chapter is small but hope u enjoy the fic.

**Chapter 14: Voldemort**

Three figures started to approach the person who was leaving from near the potions shop. They saw him halt in his tracks. They did as well. The hooded figure turned towards them and looked like it was waiting for them. "I cannot see his face, I should be able to." Murmured the vampire. Bellatrix frowned at it but said nothing. They got closer to the hooded figure. And started to observe him with a critical eye. They could see how shadows were hugging him, his entire being.

Harry observed as the three people made their way towards him. They didn't say anything just observed him. He observed them in return. Finally after the long stretching silence harry said "You do not look as crazy today as you portray to be, Misses Lestrange. And fancy meeting you hear Lord Malfoy." He said this while giving a short bow of respect to the two. "Unfortunately I don't know who your companion is." He added.

Harry could see their shocked faces under the charms, protecting their identity. Lucius lowered his hood and uttered a single word as he was still in awe "how?"

To which harry replied "I have my ways lord Malfoy."

Bella asked the only question that she could "who are you? If I may ask."

"You did ask but I won't answer."

"Our Lord told us about the night. About the truth. Are you him?"

Momentarily caught off guard harry didn't reply back immediately. But his silence was an answer for Bella. Even though his face was hidden, his posture gave it away.

"Our lord wishes to meet you whenever possible." Bella said.

Lucius was oblivious to what was happening. He had no clue what Bella was speaking about. Nor did their vampire companion.

"Is that so?" harry asked with an unseen raised eyebrow.

"Then call him now. It is the best time as any." He said.

Bella narrowed her eyes and did as she was told to. She sent an emergency message through the dark nark that was branded on her left forearm. Lucius on the other hand growled and said "Respect our lord, whoever you are I do not care, you will have to come with us or we would take you by force." While he leveled his wand on harry.

Harry narrowed his eyes the only visible part of his face, his eyes now a shade of the killing curse – so very hypnotizing, looked at Lucius and said "The only reason why you are still standing Lord Malfoy, is because I respect your lord and I do not wish to spill pureblood unnecessarily. Do not level your wand at me the consequences would be dire." Harry almost hissed the last part.

Bella sensing the tension between the two put her hand on Lucius's wand arm and lowered it.

"He is right Lucius, he hasn't disrespected our lord." Lucius was about to protest but her glare shut him up.

Harry smirked to himself and waited. The vampire just looked at this with great interested.

A few moments later there was a pop signaling someone apparating. Just behind Bella another figure had come. Harry analysed the person, red eyes was a giveaway to the identity of the person. Voldemort came behind Bella and looked over to see why he had been called here. He saw someone covered in shadows and the only thing visible was those green eyes. He could identify them anywhere. He understood why he had been called.

"It has been a while hasn't it, Lord Voldemort?" Harry said breaking the silence.

Voldemort scowled a little, "It has, indeed been a while." He said.

Others just watched this in bewilderment except Bella who at least had some idea of the conversation. People from nearby shops had stopped from coming out and those who were out had fled from the area after noticing just who was between them.

"I hear, you were interested in meeting me." Harry said.

"Indeed but this isn't the best place for the discussions of the kind, shall we go to my place?" said Voldemort.

"hmm….that sounds good, lets proceed then, shall we?" harry replied.

Voldemort motioned Bella to side-apparate Harry to the base. Once they were gone. He himself disappeared. Lucius and the vampire followed suit.

When Harry re-appeared he felt a bit dizzy, he didn't really like this method of teleportation. Luckily it wasn't seen by anyone. 'I'll have to master this as well, cannot have a weakness as silly as this.' He thought. The room he was in was enough to have a decent no. of people sitting there comfortably on the luxurious green and black sofas. Then Voldemort's pop sounded. They took seats near a fire place and sat comfortably. Bella still beside him if a little away. He knew he wasn't used to people touching him in anyway unless he had allowed. i.e. except a few. Usually only Caly, his mother, mysti and Roselyn were the once who ever touched him. And very few times Mi-o-kha. But that was all. While today Bellatrix had dropped her arm around his shoulder and held him tightly but he knew he didn't had any choices as he had never been there before.

"You may remove your hood Harry Bella already knows of you." Voldemort said.

"Indeed, but I found Lucius to have a very slippery tongue. He must be on his way here." Harry replied

Before Voldemort could say anything further, Lucius came with the vampire in tow. He gave a bow to Voldemort and said "My lord" while on one knee and his head still bowed.

"Ah, Lucius. The person I needed to speak to!" Voldemort replied in a hiss like tone.

"I heard from our guest that you are not so good with your tongue. Thus we need to have an oath from you to keep it silent; I trust you can do that."

Lucius replied positively without hesitation. After the oath was given and Magorian – the vampire was also seated. Harry finally removed his hood and revealed his face. Both Magorian and Lucius were shocked to see an apparent nine year old sitting in front of them.

"I am sure you know why I called you here" Voldemort said. Harry nodded.

"There was a prophecy which I had to confirm and that was the reason why I did what I did. I hope you understand." He again said. It was his way to apologies. He wasn't going to do it directly. Harry again nodded and showed his understanding. "I do remember that very clearly Lord Voldemort." He said. "Voldemort's eyes widened just a little, knowing that Harry had an eidetic (photographic) memory. But he covered his shock as quickly with a pleasant smile.

"That is good" he said.

"Then you must have what I gave you all those years ago?" he asked.

Harry replied positively "Of – course." He removed a pale white wand out of his right pocket of the robe and handed it to Voldemort. Voldemort took his own wand in hand for the first time in so many years. He felt the spark of recognition from his wand although he didn't reveal anything it was very obvious in his eyes just how much he appreciated it.

"Perhaps you could tell me what the prophecy was?" harry said.

"I could but that would be very confusing for you so I'll just say, after that day you were proven to be chosen for a great destiny. You will have powers not seen before in any wizard or witch alike. But that is all that I can tell you right now." Voldemort said.

Voldemort then turned to harry and added "I would like to give you a gift on your birthday Lord Potter, if that would be acceptable." Harry nodded and said "that would be fine Lord Voldemort."

Voldemort turned to the shocked Lucius and a curious Magorian. He told Magorian to meet on another day with Bella but also warned that whatever he had learned should not go out without his consent. After that he dismissed Lucius as well. Only the three of them remained.

Then Voldemort grasped his and Bella's hand in his hands and apparated them. It was a very long distance apparation, it definitely made him seek to stomach. But he controlled it. They were in an alley. They came across the street and took a few turns. Now they were in front of a shop, specifically a wand shop. Now Harry understood why they were here. Voldemort planned to give him a crafted wand, it was the store of the most well-known wand crafter through the world, Lord Gregorvich.

Voldemort turned to him while he released both Bella and him from his firm grip. He said "I have wanted to have a new wand for a while now. So I thought it would be the best time to by a new wand along with yours. And Lord Gregorvich is the best."

Harry merely nodded as Bella raised her hand to knock on the door…..


	14. 14 wands and animagi

**Disclaimer**: As everyone knows, most of the characters in this fic are not mine, and harry potter world belongs to J.K.R.

**A/N:** another big chapter. Hope you like it. And pleeeeease review! As otherwise I wouldn't know if you like it or not, or if there are any plot holes. Also I had edited Harry's inheritance a bit in chapter 12, please read.

**Chapter 14: Wands and animagi**

Bella knocked on the door and stepped aside to give Voldemort space to come on the stairs. They may have blasted the door open but they didn't really want any unnecessary attention on themselves. After a while as Voldemort was starting to get annoyed for having to wait so long, the door opened to revel a sleepy Lord Gregorvich.

Gregorvich was about to say something to the fools who woke him in the middle of the night. But whatever he was going to say died down on his lips when he registered just who was on his doorsteps. He immediately got out of his sleepy state and gave a small bow "Lord Voldemort, at this time, how may I help you?" he said.

Voldemort gave a short nod and said "We need your expertise Lord Gregorvich."

Gregorvich nodded and motioned them to enter his shop. Both Harry and Voldemort could sense a lot of magic coming out of every inch of the store. It was far bigger than Oleander's and also heavily warded. It would have easily taken Voldemort at least 10 minutes and good bit of his magic. There were stronger presence coming from the back side of the room they were in.

Once they were settled on comfortable seats, Harry who had pulled his hood up already before coming here still under the hood looked at the wand maker in interest. It was a fascinating subject to him. wand, an instrument that was most important in a witch or wizards life was not easy to craft. He wanted to learn as much as he could.

Gregorvich looked at Voldemort and asked "who would need a wand among you, Lord Voldemort?"

"I and my companion" Voldemort replied while he pointed at Harry when he mentioned his companion.

"I see." He said.

"Please follow me" he said while he rose from his seat. They entered the back side of the store. It was even bigger than the first and lined with shelves upon shelves on all sides of the walls. There were many trunks and vials containing different things. They neared the desk and then Gregorvich turned to them and asked "who would like to go first?"

Voldemort looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow, questioningly.

"You may go first Lord Voldemort; I would like to observe it as I am completely unaware of the process." Harry said.

Gregorvich then did some majoring's with Voldemort and confirmed which was his wand hand.

Voldemort gave a short nod and looked at Gregorvich. Gregorvich walked behind the desk and took out a long box he un-shrunk it. It was now completely occupying the desk. He asked Voldemort to slowly move his hand over each and every wood and pick whichever he felt to be calling him; he would know when one called him. Harry was standing behind a good distance so he couldn't see just how many samples were there. To woods called to him he picked them and gave to Gregorvich. Voldemort already knew what these woods were. Gregorvich looked at Voldemort and Voldemort sensing it said "elder and yew". Gregorvich nodded and said "yes very powerful, elder though is also very unstable, there has not been a single wand ever crafted with it that hadn't blown before even being used, it will be a challenge." After that he motioned for Voldemort to follow him, the two neared a shelf and it opened to reveal a number of core materials. He then said "now I would need to cast a spell on you to see what your power levels are" it was more like asking for permission than telling him. Voldemort gave a stiff nod with narrowed eyes. Gregorvich performed the spell with his cherry wood wand. After that he asked Voldemort to put 3 drops of his blood on a glass orb that he had produced from within his pocket. Voldemort did so. Nothing happened at first but then the color of the mist in the glass started to turn green then gold then finally settled on black. The orb itself was humming with magic, vibrating in Gregorvich's hand. Gregorvich nodded to himself and let the orb free. It zoomed up and down near the shelf and two things came out of the shelf and circled the orb.

Gregorvich took them and put the orb in a box which promptly exploded in it. They came back to the desk Gregorvich put the materials near the woods they had found before. Gregorvich looked at them and said "the liquid vial is of basilisk venom with pieces of its fang. The other is heartstring of a Hungarian horntail. Was very vicious took 23 to subdue it. Wand would be ready in a week at most."

Then Voldemort was taken towards another shelf. Out of which Voldemort came back with a vial of silver liquid.

"It is live silver, an alchemical product." Voldemort said as he was already aware of it.

Gregorvich nodded and then looked at harry and called him forwards. Harry did so.

He was then subjugated to the annoying procedure of majoring. He told that he was ambidextrous.

He was told to do the same procedure with the woods. He did so but after going through all the items he couldn't feel a strong pull, he frowned and looked at Gregorvich and nodded negatively. Gregorvich frowned.

"There has not been a single person who had not found a wood matching in this collection. But not to worry I have a collection of ingredients collected throughout history by my ancestors and me till date. There must be something that will work for you."

He opened a shelf behind him and took out three leather satchels. He placed them in front of Harry and motioned him to go through the same procedure.

Harry could already feel strong pulses from these. He went through the same procedure and found out that he had 4 different woods that called him. He put them aside on the desk and stepped a bit back. Gregorvich's eyes were comically wide when he saw Harry's collection of woods.

He picked the first one "A branch of tree of origin. It's the tree that grew at the center where branches of both tree of life and tree of death meet. It has been in our family from the times forgotten. The only reason why I even know of it is because it has been documented well." He said and put the rough wood that had all the colors in it on the desk.

He then picked the second wood and said "this is a branch of Mithrandir, a tree that grew in the dwelling of high elves. It was known as the tree of knowledge. It was said that one could even speak with it. It held memories of those who passed on those sacred lands, their souls leaving an imprint behind. They say that it was tainted during the great battle that took place. After that both high elves and fey people vanished from these lands, leaving behind the house elves – the cursed human kind of that time that has deteriorated by time while fey left fairies behind. The red taints are of the blood shed of the war." Gregorvich put the white wood with red taints back on the desk.

He picked the third dark red – almost black wood and said "This is from a hawthorn tree. It was grown in Greek administration. It was fed with blood of the enemies of the Greek instead of water." He put the wood down back on the desk and picked the last one.

It was purple in color. "Unfortunately I cannot attest to its origins. Any knowledge concerning it had vanished if it was present at all. Its length also keeps varying ever so often that I cannot measure its length with any precision at all. It will be a definite challenge to work with these." Gregorvich said in a very sad tone.

Both Voldemort and Bella were very surprised with the rare selection of woods. Then Harry was motioned towards the shelf towards the farthest corner of the room. The cabinet opened revealing a number of exotic and no doubt rare core materials. Gregorvich again brought an orb out of his pocket. He inclined his head slightly, asking for permission to perform the spell necessary. Harry gave a stiff nod and Gregorvich did his work. Then he made a small cut on Harry's finger and let 3 drops of blood drop on the orb. Like with Voldemort, nothing happened initially but then the orb started to hum with magic as pure darkness started to become visible in the center of the orb. It wasn't big a small dot but the orb was already starting to vibrate uncontrollably. Wand maker's hand was trembling with the efforts to not let it lose from his grip. But it was getting too violent as the small smudge in the orb was slowly getting bigger. The orb was starting to feel like it was folding in on itself. Like it was being pulled inside the small dot. Small cracks were starting to form over it. Sensing that it probably won't hold longer, Gregorvich threw it towards the box but midway in the air a small crack sounded and the orb broke and was sucked in the small dot inside. Which then disintegrated in a shower of black dust that promptly vanished out of sight. Everyone was surprised by this. Though Voldemort, Bella and Harry had cast shields to protect themselves from whatever may happen. All had different shields. Bella's was a bunker shield, it could take the explosions of most muggle explosives. Voldemort's was a solid shield with a silver snake on the left-side upper corner. Harrys was a shadow shield. All the shields were covering all the four. Harry's being the farthest from them and closest to the orb. Followed by Bella's followed by Voldemort's.

Whatever had happened had left all of them in a state of shock however short-lived it was. Luckily nothing disastrous had happened. The small crack/explosion was not bigger in range. It luckily didn't hurt any of the nearby shelves or cabinets.

"I have never in my life, for that matter not even any of my ancestors had faced someone with such tremendous amount of power. It will be a real deal to make this wand. But let's now do the core selection the unsafe way. We use this method to safely pick the cores. But as now we cannot and using another orb would result in same way, we'd have to do it manually. Please carefully go through every ingredient. If possible try to connect with them without getting close to them as they tend to jump to you." Said a still awed wand maker.

Harry let his magic that he could call from as deep from within him as possible. It was shocking and enthralling. How the magic flowed, it's turbulence. While harry did this the atmosphere in the room got heavier and darker. Harry was starting to release a visible grey aura it was slowly increasing in size but darkening in color. But then it started to just darken instead of increasing in size. That was a good thing as well. Because if it had increased then it would have collided with the shelf or anything that it should not touch. And no results could have been predicted. A slight ripple went through the air. Harry had already lost his control over the shadows that concealed his face. His face was now visible to the wand maker who chose not to comment. Harry's face was twitching ever so often that it made clear that he was suppressing his aura from increasing in size while also letting the deeper magic within him come out. That was when five different things came zooming from the shelf in front of him, hovering in midair. Seeing this harry started to let the magic go back inside him. And he lowered the items on a silver platter that Voldemort had conjured with a casual flick of his wand. It floated in front of them as they made their way back to the desk.

"It will be impossible to fit such powerful materials in a structure of a wand. Thus I would need to make a staff. Your measures gave me two different conclusions one a length of 11 inches and the other 5'7"." Gregorvich said.

Harry merely nodded. Not bothering to conceal his face anymore. He knew he had been foolish thinking that he wouldn't need to worry of anyone finding his identity that he didn't want to know. He should have used a concealment charm as well. But his arrogance had beaten him and he knew it. He decided to take every precaution that he could from this time onwards. But be that as it may, he had other matters at hand right now.

Gregorvich started to identify the materials. There were two vials and others looked like animal parts. He indicated to the first vial and said "this one the blood red liquid is actually indeed blood, of a royal vampire to be precise. From who, it is debatable as it had been under strong preservations for a very long time and there aren't any records to be found." Then he indicated towards the second vial that had dark red almost black liquid that looked very thick and said "It's blood of an ancient Dragon, it was known as Emproxion. It is rumored that dragon of his description had been sited sometime in the past." He then indicated to the first solid object as it was some kind of horn. "It's a horn of a unicorn not just any but that of the most powerful one in a clan that existed some 5 hundred years ago. In one clan there is always one unicorn that is black in color. It is always the oldest and the wisest as well as powerful. It was given to our family by our allies of that time, as a payment of a debt." Harry listened to this as he didn't have had any knowledge of this prior to now. Then he pointed at the next item, it was a fang of some kind. "This is a fang of bassiliskos. They are known as predecessors of basilisks. They were supposed to have grown from the hairs of the dead medusa as they took her ability to kill with look. It was around two millennia ago. Basilisks were the product of mating of these powerful magical beasts and other less powerful snakes. This fang is still coated with the venom of the majestic beast that once belonged to lady Morgana la fey, her familiar. Although I have no idea just how it got in our family." He then looked at the last piece that looked like an arrow head and was dark reddish in color. Harry already knew what it was as he was very familiar with the animal, "tail end of a nundu" Harry said. Gregorvich looked surprised but nodded.

Gregorvich frowned. He felt like something was missing. And it was most crucial ingredient of all. That was when all felt the wards shudder a bit and a small ball of shadows started to form in the middle of the room. Everyone started to look at it. Voldemort glanced at harry, but saw that even harry was surprised.

The shadows started to form a shape, it was all too familiar to harry but still very different. It looked like a phoenix but larger in size, far more majestic and powerful looking. Harry was mesmerized by its beauty as the shape completed. It gave a trill that elated him, made him feel powerful. Everyone else was just as much in awe as he was. Not many had ever heard of this creature. But luckily Voldemort had some idea of just who was in front of them. The majestic bird shrunk in size. It dropped a single feather off from his tail on the desk near other ingredients. It then looked at harry in eyes, its eyes showing intelligence beyond ages, beyond life and death. It also gave him a sense of familiarity. Although harry had no previous knowledge of this majestic creature, just looking it in eyes gave him a sense of calm, a feeling of power. It hopped on his left shoulder. Its weight was almost nothing to feel. Behind Harry, all the occupants of the room were on their knees, heads bowed. Harry had no idea of it as he was enthralled by the presence of the mighty creature.

Voldemort had read of this creature in Salazar's journals. Salazar was first Lord of house of Slytherin. He had once mentioned about a majestic bird that resembled a phoenix but was dark as impenetrable night. He had mentioned some old legends. They summarized that this great creature once known as Braiden was a companion of Lord Death. He fought the old battles of ages. Destroyed a large number of those so called light phoenixes. The number of phoenixes in those times was numerous. They usually were in groups. Their leader used to be a white royal phoenix. These battles were fought in the outer space destroying space and dimensions during their great battles. The old scrolls that he had gathered regarding the mythical and beyond powerful beings mentioned that, Braiden had destroyed over 17 of these royal phoenixes when they had tried to battle with it together to take it down instead of being with their normal groups. That was the first time that he had been struck and had bled. It is said that his blood that collected in the space got fused while earth was in early stages of formation. It stayed as such in Earth's core for some eons and then a dark force rose, Lord Dracula. He spread the reign of darkness through the world, this and beyond. But then he vanished. Without any trace or at least to human world. But reign of darkness was never spread fully and broke by the light Lord that rose many years later. Mere presence of such a being was oppressive to anyone with light in their minds and spirit lifting to those with dark in theirs. It had departed from its master, Lord Death some time but that was just a speculation. But it was enough knowledge for him to show respect to this being. And thus why he kneeled. And watching him kneel while they stood was not an option for others. So they kneeled as well. It was a reason enough to respect someone if Lord Voldemort was kneeling in front of them.

And an instant later it was all over Braiden vanished from Harry's shoulder. He looked in bewilderment. Then he saw others kneeling. Voldemort was first to look up as he sensed the presence fade. He saw Harry looking at all of them confused. Everyone rose after him. Voldemort sighed and asked Harry "You do not know anything about just was with you a while ago, do you?"

Harry said "no unfortunately it seems I am unaware of it."

Voldemort told everyone about what little knowledge he had. After everyone gathered themselves back, Gregorvich said "we would need strong stabilizers for this wand please follow me."

Harry did. They neared a new shelf. It had a number of stones and metal plates. Harry extended his hand a little near the shelf. Two stones zoomed at him that he snatched out of the air, and handed back to Gregorvich.

They went back to the desk. He brought the first in front of them and said "this dark red is a blood stone. A stone that was formed by fusion of a lot of magical blood in the pit of Earth. And the other one "- he said as he brought the second stone upfront – "is an elemental stone. It is made by putting essence of an element and compressing it into a stone. It usually shows the color of the particular element that it was made from. This one is multicolored and also has an invisible edge" he said while he traced the invisible edge with his finger. Red color is fire, yellow is lightning, blue is water and the transparent edge means air." He then put them back on the desk.

He turned towards them and said "this wand – this will take me a better time of the month. It will be the most powerful wand ever crafted."

Voldemort nodded and said "Your efforts will be suitably rewarded Lord Gregorvich, but I would need an oath of silence regarding all this matter."

Gregorvich nodded and gave his oath. Then he said "you may come by august seventh to take the wands. Both would be ready by then. I will start the runic preparations as soon as I could."

They said their parting greetings to the old wand maker and departed. They arrived back at Voldemort's place via a portkey. A swish of Voldemort's wand showed that it was half past midnight. It was already very late, Harry decided to take his leave. He sincerely thanked Voldemort for what he had done for him today. Harry also thanked Bella as she was the reason why he was even here today. They decided to meet later on. Harry was keyed into the manor entrance. He could now directly come there via shadow travel.

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Harry appeared back at potter manor. He checked on everyone to find them asleep. He sat on a chair beside Caly's bed. He kissed her lightly on her forehead. She unconsciously caught his finger in her tiny hand and took it beneath her head. He smiled he untangled his hand from her and stood just looking at her. That was when he heard "you should go to sleep as well. Today was very tiring for you."

He smiled, a tired smile. He said "Yes, I think so. But do you know anything about Braiden other than what Voldemort said."

Mysti shook her head behind him and said "no no, unfortunately the great Braiden is just as much of a legend to us as he is to this world."

Harry nodded his head in understanding. He then looked at her and said "thank you for being their today" and hugged her. She smiled returning his hug, "What are big sisters for" she said.

Harry then got back to his room and put the animagi potion inside a drawer. Although he was tired he wasn't going to just discard his things everywhere. He arranged his purchases in his wardrobe. And finally he changed in his night dress and fell on his bed. He was out before his head even hit the pillow.

Harry was looking in a mirror when he heard "You look happy."

He turned already a bright smile on his face. "I am happy." He said.

His mother gave him a gentle smile while getting near him and ruffled his hair making him pout childishly. He always felt like being a child when he was with his mother. She was always so nice, and knew how to lift his spirits up. She kissed the top of his head making him smile.

"You want to meet someone?" she asked.

"Who?" He asked, confused.

"Someone I wanted you to meet for a while, but you didn't came." She said while she flicked his nose a little with her finger smiling all the while. He knew she liked to do that a lot.

"Can we play?" he asked.

"May be." she said. Her purple eyes sparkling with amusement. Yes apparently her eyes changed color as she wanted or depending on her mood. Or so she had told him.

"O.K" he said. While bobbing his head up and down.

She smiled. "Good. They will be here soon."

"Who are they?" he asked.

"You will know, soon. Have some patience." She said with a mischievous smile on his face. Oh he really liked her surprises, she had ones surprised him by telling him that he had sisters. But never told anything more. And ones by gifting him a giant bulldog with dragon wings and griffin head. Yes he really liked those surprises, he thought with sarcasm dripping in his thoughts. That pet was still here living somewhere in the grounds of the castle. He had been warned to not go snooping around. He had tried ones and had his head eaten by a giant snake like plant with big razor like teeth. Only his sign of the triangle had saved him when it had touched the plant. That thing had stopped attacking and did something that sounded like blowing ones nose and the force had thrown out of the room. The room had promptly shut itself on his face. He had not ventured on his own after that.

His musing were interrupted when she said "Just remember one thing; don't give your name, one that I gave you to anyone, ever. No matter what or who. O.K?"

Harry nodded. He was already told the importance of the given name. But right now he was eager to meet these two guests.

"Come" she said taking his hand in hers and stood with a grace that he knew not even Mysti could perform. He stood beside her and they started to fade. They appeared in another room in the castle. It was again made of ice but also had several elements of fire in the decoration. Everything that required fabric material was actual flames. He knew that cold didn't hurt him, but he wasn't sure of the flames. He looked at his mother in confusion.

"No, the fire doesn't hurt, at least to some. You included." He sighed relieved. This room was more like for an informal gathering of a small group of people.

The doors to the room opened while two figures stepped inside from each of them, both woman. One was wearing Indian traditional sari. It was a beautiful piece of work. But looking closely made him feel like the fabric was flowing all over. The patterns and designs on it changing. He was very sure that it was water. But it was very thick, and luckily not transparent. But even then the woman was just breathtaking. She was beautiful like his mother, maybe a little less he thought admittedly. Her eyes were a cold shade of blue, deep like the oceans but they radiated comfort and perhaps excitement. He had found that predicting these eternal beings was almost impossible. Even after living with his mother for so long and that was saying something. Her skin was a very light shade of sea blue. A small smile tugging at her beautiful dark blue lips that complemented her eyes perfectly. He wondered if she had some kind of makeup. Her hair smooth and flowing like water itself and

Other woman on the other hand was wearing a gown of blood red color with long sleeves. It was long and loose, hugging her lightly, showing her perfect curves. Her skin a medium shade of orange and radiating an aura of warmth. Her skin was glowing, almost like on fire. A small smile tugging at her lips just like the other women. Her lips were a dark shade of orange. And long flowing bright hair like actual fire was running through them.

But when he looked at them in succession he found that they were identical if not for the color differences.

"You are twins!" he exclaimed.

When both the women were near them, they started to say

"Hmm – "

"Maybe we are – "

"Twin – "

"Or may be not – "

"But we assure you – "

"We are sisters." Amusement shining in their eyes.

It seemed obvious to him that they already knew each other well. They definitely acted like twins though. He huffed.

They laughed their laughter like a tinkling bell. Identical to each other. They both turned to his mother and said "mother" with a small nod.

His eyes widened he was meeting with his sisters for the first time and he didn't have any idea! "Why did mother not tell me!' he thought as he saw the exchange between them. His mother smiled a smile of contentment. He understood that it must have been long since all of them had come together. His mother's next word confirmed it. "It has been a long time you last came…. Summer" while she looked at the orange one and then she slightly tilted her head in the blue one's direction and said "….you too Winter."

"Indeed mother – "

"It has been – "

"Some time – "

"Over a few millennia – "

"Hasn't it."

"Indeed it has been, I'd hoped you would come to meet your lonely mother every once in a while." His mother said with an amused smile.

"This is your brother, Harry" she said.

"Ah! But we thought – "

"He would be older – "

"Not so little – " and they together started to ruffle his hair. Making him pout again.

His mother laughed and said "do stay here children. I'll have something for you to eat and drink."

Harry wondered why his mother was making anything when she could just bring it into existence with but a thought. She vanished leaving him with these almost strangers.

They answered his unspoken question,

"Mother always made something – "

"By her own – "

"When we all were – "

"Together – "

"She likes to do – "

"Such things as – "

"Most of the time – "

"She has nothing – "

"To do but – "

"Sleep as she doesn't – "

"Actively take part in – "

"Anything happening – "

"On the mortal world."

Harry was able to keep up with their twin talk but couldn't contain his laughter and finally burst out laughing. Finally he controlled his laughter and looked at the other two who were smiling from ear to ear. He again chuckled for a while.

Then he asked "What dose mother really make? And is she a good cook?" excited and curious.

"Oh she can cook anything. You name it. But her specialty is in food non mortal. We really tried to make her tell us her recipe. But she doesn't. her iceberg cookies, blood shake with emeralds, detonator candies are the best." said Summer.

"Don't forget about the lava candy and willow noodles." added Winter.

"Uh – uh" harry said dumbly as he had never heard of these and had no idea if they were just pulling his leg.

"So what do you do usually?" he asked the next best sensible thing he thought.

"Ah well, usually we try to take over each other through some or the other means. It's real fun you know, weakening each other's forces, destroying someone in every once in a while. Especially since we cannot know what the other is thinking." Summer said with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Yes it's really interesting to think and play the game, nothing remains predictable or doesn't become until it's too late." They were smiling and saying this like they were just discussing about tea and not about the wars they did create or attempted to kill each other. Really he was sure to lose his moral sanity with these two than any other way, he was sure of it. He cleared his head to see their still smiling faces. They were really beautiful, no other women he had seen , met or heard did even match them of–course his mother was an exception for she was easily beautiful than anyone else alive or dead, mortal or not, at least in his eyes.

"And mother is fine with that?" he asked dumbly.

"Oh, she doesn't care as long as we don't kill each other."

"And visit her every once in a while."

"And don't fight here."

But then they became serious and winter said "The only thing you don't do is angering her."

"Then again she doesn't get angry easily." Sid summer cheerily.

They discussed over almost everything and nothing. Harry for the first time in his life tasted what lava candy was like. To say he liked it would be like calling his mother an amateur child. He devoured everything that his mother had prepared. His mother and sister watched with amused smiles as he ate. Harry took a look at them and said "What?" to which they just shook their head still smiling but a bit wider.

He said "I am eating this stuff for the first time, what do you expect? Mother never made it before and you said she doesn't make it unless all are together."

His mother smiled and said "Hmm… I'd have made if you had asked me to. I will make it if you really like it."

"But not every day." She added with a fake sternness in her vice but that didn't reach her eyes as they were brighter than ever.

After another round of his mother's amazing cookies, they decided that he should go back to sleep. Which he did with some feeble protest as he started to feel his eyelids get heavier.

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Harry woke up in his bedroom. He remembered what all had gone in the dreamland today. He chuckled to himself thinking about the twins. They were so different not like the Weasley twins and definitely not like him and Nat. it made him hate the light just that much more. They looked so close in the house, but outside their home, they were always planning to beat each other. Then again they were not normal mortals. Not even normal immortals. The only way to kill them was tremendous imagination and powers that no mortal could hope to have. They were entity, soulless. And that was what made them dangerous than demons even. Especially his mother. She after all, was the first. The way his sisters described her made him feel like she was on the level of angels and demons.

He shook his self out of his thoughts. He had to take his animagus potion today. But he decided to spend some time with Caly first. So he did. They played for a while then when she seemed to be falling asleep, he tucked her in. then he got back to his room and took out the potion from the drawer. He sat on his bed and removed the cork from the vial. He drank it in a single gulp and lay on the bed putting the vial on the nearby table. He could feel his vision going hazy. He shut his eyes. When he opened them he was in the fields surrounding potter manor. He started to move in the woods. He took a few steps here and there when he started to hear rumbling noise of something. When suddenly a large figure stepped in front of him. He instantly knew what it was but didn't know what he was supposed to do. The nundu gave an ear splitting shriek and lunged at him he tried to dodge but found that he wouldn't succeed as his super strength and speed were not available. He tried to bring a shield of darkness but that failed as well. For the first time he felt completely vulnerable but he desperately thought of surviving even though he was on the doorsteps of death. The claw hit him on face that sent an agony not greater than his inheritance's one but almost as sever. He lost consciousness. What felt like hours or even may have been days, he felt himself gain conscious. He was still in the woods. But he seemed to have been thrown far away from where he had been hit. He could see the woods getting thinner. He managed to lift his sore body and started to drag it out. He soon reached near a clearing; a cliff wasn't far away from there. He washed his face in the clearing and took a look at his reflection. He was completely unharmed. "Strange" he thought. After that attack from the Nundu, he did expect at the very least a scar.

He started to climb the cliff almost falling over several times. When he reached the top of the cliff he had to stifle a gasp. A dragon of double the size of a Hungarian horntail was there. Its head snapped in his direction. Before Harry could even take a step back the dragon had started to throw bouts of black flames. Harry started to dodge them but the third one was very large in size and he was unable to dodge. It struck him and he felt like being blown away. He was falling from the cliff but the only thing he could think of was pain as he felt like being skinned alive. He lost consciousness, again. He was them woken by a soft melody. A trilling that filled his weekend heart and gave him the power he had lost. He awoke to see the same intense black eyes that he had seen in the wand makers shop. It was a Braiden. It neared its beak near his forehead. Harry blanched thinking that he would again have to go through a bit of pain. But it never came. A feeling of warmth and completion came over him. And he found himself falling asleep.

When he woke up he found a small weight snuggled beside him. He felt very sore. He easily recognized it as Caly. Mysti was sitting on a chair just beside his bed. He whispered "Mysti?" trying to find out if she was even awake or not. Her eyes immediately opened and landed on him. She relaxed. "How long was I out for?" He asked.

"Nearly 3 days." She replied.

'That long huh.' Harry thought to himself.

He gently lowered Caly's head from over his shoulder and got out of the bed and into the shower. He let the hot water run over his sore body as it worked wonders on him. His body had already started to lose its soreness and getting back to normal. His shadow healing was indeed very fast. He came out dressed and almost at his peak of health to have a small hand tug at his pants. He saw the smiling face of Caly, wanting to be picked up. Harry picked her up and played with her for a while. He also had found from Mysti that Caly had refused to eat unless he fed her and she had to use a minor illusion since last two days to feed her by pretending to be him. He smiled to himself. This small innocent gesture of his little princes was actually touching. He looked at her smiling and fed her. A little after he was done Lily came in, searching for Caly. Apparently she had forgotten to feed her yesterday. He told her off saying that he had just fed her. He already knew from Mysti that Caly had made a ruckus about eating as he wasn't available. He put her in his bed and tucked her in with a story from beetle and the bard. But the fact remained; his family was forgetting Caly just like they had forgotten him, his mother should have tried to feed her a while later but noooo! She had to arrange for a small party for Nat getting his first wand holly wood and a phoenix feather as a core from Dumbledore's pet phoenix. Once Lily had left he called Mysti and asked her about the Dragon that he had seen in his vision. She made him conjure a replica of the dragon that he had seen. She confirmed it as one of the ancient Dragons that had left this space at the time when Higher elves and Fey left. She vanished and came back a while later and gave him an overview and a scroll that described the species with much detail. They were written in elven. He frowned as he was unable to read them. But she assured him that she would teach him if he wanted to learn. She also told him that those dragons were actually very common in her dimension.

In evening Harry decided to give a visit to Galvan. So he did. He also told Galvan everything about his meeting with Bella and Lucius, then with Voldemort, then about the wands and Braiden. Galvan had laughed and said "I have simply stopped to keep any predictable expectations from you as you always seem to do something out of the loop. I did expect multi animagi or even magical but not with such power."

Harry decided that he had been having a lot of busy and painful time for a while now so he would take some rest. So he decided to spend his time with Caly rather than studying. But he still didn't stop his morning exercises. He was now waiting for his next meeting with Voldemort. He was going to resume his self-training and studying after that.


	15. 15 time flies

**Disclaimer: **well you should already know this!

**A/N: **thank you for the reviews guys, and I am sorry for the spelling errors as sometimes I forget to correct them. But I try to improve!

For those who thought Harry could take both dumbles and Voldy together, he can't. He has power not experience. Voldemort was defeated because he was shocked and didn't have enough time to react. To others be patient, he isn't godlike, just very powerful. Now enjoy the new chapter!

**Chapter 15: Time Flies**

[**A time skips of around four years. Harry will soon get his Hogwarts letter. But this chapter is more like filler for those years.**]

'It has been a long journey till now. I have come far from the lonely child who used to crave for his mother and father's affections. I have a new family, although, it's a strange one, very much so.' An almost 11 year old harry mused. He was relaxing in the woods surrounding the manor. He had decided to take a break today. He was reflecting over his past. 'It had been almost 6 years that I first met mother. I cannot even repay her for what she had done for me. But she had only asked me to rise and that I will.' He thought with a resolve. He had also learned a lot about his other sisters. He had learned that they might try to drag him in their little game and that seemed an inevitable, so he had decided to let the course of time run. He would play from both sides. Sometimes helping Maeve and sometimes helping Cádiz. Yes he had also gotten their names that they used for everyday life. Of course he hadn't gotten their names of origin, the names given by their mother, nor had he given his. He still remembered her warning and that was the only one that she had ever given. And he didn't want to make his mother angry, certainly not at him. News of some with control over the very night itself had spread outside like wild fire. Galvan's little plan of letting world know him had worked well. The very next day there had been a meeting of 'order of the phoenix' in their house. It had been amusing to see Dumbledore so grave all the time. He had made a few excursions after his first trip to knockturn. Some order members had tried to catch him there but they had been found bloody and near dead on their own doorsteps without any knowledge what so ever of the attacker and oblivated of their whole life. He had left them near vegetables with brutal Legillmency attacks.

Caly was also doing very good. She had already celebrated her 4th birthday. He had started to teach her simple things in controlling magic. Like changing hair colors or pushing something, or changing someone's skin color. It was fun exercise for her and he didn't want to push her too much as he already knew that she was not as powerful as him to be able to do what he used to. They had become inseparable in these last few years. He had wanted to shield her from the cruelty of the world outside, but Mysti had made him prepare her for the inevitable as even he knew she would have to face it some or the other day. So he had started to teach her in a fun way. But she was unable to do much at this stage except occlumency and he was fine with that. She was always so energetic that she could hardly keep her excitement to herself. But she was very observant. She had seen him become cold and distant around others. So copying him, she had adopted an aloof personality around others. She usually played with Roselyn and Mi-o-kha whenever they were here. He had found that Caly had taken a liking to the two. She had opened up a lot to them but thankfully he had warned her not to tell them anything that he had shown her or taught her. It was also a good thing that when he had used his power to hide her mind from intruders, it had turned out to be very productive. That was the reason why she was good at occlumency. Although it wouldn't do against a full brutal legillmens attack, it would suffice otherwise. Mi-o-kha had taken it to herself to spoil her rotten. She had jokingly said that if he was as strict with her as he was with himself, then someone had to spoil her. He hadn't minded, he himself had started to like the veela and her daughter. He also knew that he was indeed strict with himself and also understood what she was insinuating at.

He himself on the other hand had grown in leaps and bounds. Both magically and physically. His mind magic had become so very good that no one would be able to penetrate it. It helped that he was motivated not to let his two insane immortal sisters inside his head. It had also helped him increase his focus and recollection ability vastly. It had also helped him in his Legillmency practice. He had become very proficient in the art. He had then started to take it to a completely new level by speeding his mind and developing telepathic abilities. He had also started to use telekinesis. Both these abilities helped him immensely. Telepathy was good to understand emotions of people near him. Although it gave a hazy feeling when he had been near any master occlumence and using it, thus he didn't use it on them. He had also found that he could manipulate emotions of others if they weren't occlumence. Nat and Lily had been a subject to many emotional traumas after that. He had enjoyed their torment. But it had been unfortunate that Dumbledore had decided to teach them occlumency. Well it was Snape who taught Lily. She had already had minor shields that Snape had helped her create when they were young and used to meet together before Hogwarts. Nat had started to Improve after that his training with Dumbledore seemed to be paying off to them. But that was nothing special in truth. Nat's shields were very weak and he had gone through Nat's mind several times, undetected. Nat had by now completed the third year course of Hogwarts in transfiguration, charms and defense against the dark arts or DADA as it was called and was through halfway in the fourth year. Now if one was to compare the course work now and that of 13th century and before they would have found that the course work has degraded, by a large margin. In those times they used to have different types of categories. One was usually of most purebloods and some half-bloods even. Other was mostly of the muggleborns and some half-bloods. First category used to produce most of the hit wizards and top class aurors of that time. Second one usually produced most of the general public of the wizarding world. Even then that general public was capable enough to hold their own against today's most of the aurors. First year course of that time was like the second year course of today. And even then they had more core subjects than they do now. It included weapon fighting, dark arts, arithmancy, and runes. So it was obvious that the course work was restricted due to time available or it would have been more intense. That was for the first category. The second category had a course work similar to that of todays. But they also had to take other core subjects that their peers used to. It was obvious that the jurisdiction has deteriorated with time and these so called light families had lowered the standard of the education of Hogwarts to accommodate the muggleborns. It has especially gone down the hill in the time of Dumbledore, the muggle lover and champion of mud-bloods. And most importantly, there was a special group of students who were powerful enough to become sorcerers in future. They were taught separately by the head of houses and the head master himself. Headmaster of Hogwarts in those times always used to be a sorcerer. So did heads of houses. They were picked from candidates all over the world. That's why there used to be so many class rooms in the Hogwarts castle. He had heard from James and his friends that there were a lot of unused classrooms. It was a shame, really. At least the 'dark' families abided themselves to the same old rules. They taught practical application of magic to their children from the age of eight. They bought custom made wands to use for this purpose. They learned while the 'light' coddled their children. They bought their Olivander wands when they were to go to Hogwarts. No one crafted wands from Olivander as the man was strictly working for the ministry. There was no assurance that he would keep his mouth about this fact. He was also a known and licensed legillmens. He used it on most of the children he sold wand to. That's why every pureblood was taught occlumency. Even though everyone didn't do very well, they could at least detect the foreign presence. That was enough to get him sued in the wizengemot court. It had happened once when he had been caught by a pureblood child some 5 decades ago. He had gotten an official warning not to use it and had to pay 10000 galleons for the slight against the House. But people in the upper circles knew that all that was fake and the money had come from the pockets of ministry.

He thought of the time when he had first taken his staff in hands. It had been in simplest words, beautiful.

Flashback….

He stared at the long piece of a master craftsmanship. Its head was the unicorn horn itself. It was covered in a thin yellow membrane that glowed with an inner strength. A small ring was at the bottom of the horn just covering it and the body of the staff started there. It was like all the woods had become one. Those different colored swirls twisting together and blending to form a single 2 inch thick long material that looked like it had coiled around itself making the long and powerful rod that radiated power. Its base was an orb seemingly formed by the coil itself. It wasn't too big or too small, the size of his fist, perfect. The middle body was carved with a number of graphs and also the magical beings and beasts that now were a part of his staff. It was also filled with a number of runes that he didn't know but they were hidden with strong magic that was tied to the wand maker. Gregorvich told him that he had to place 7 drops of blood each on three runes etched on the tip, body and the end. He did so and the staff started to hum ad radiate a power he felt familiar with. He touched it and a sense of calm, power, familiarity and completion filled him. He closed his eyes. He didn't know this but he had been surrounded by an eternal darkness that encompassed him. He was like the night sky above, but there were no twinkling stars. He opened his eyes, a serene smile playing on his lips. He had been told that the elemental stone and blood stone were inside, keeping the wand cores from interfering with each other and still letting his magic flow through them. He was also told that due to the property of the purple wood, his staff could change length and shape in some way. He thanked the wand maker and vanished back at Voldemort's.

Flashback ends….

Harry had later found that his staff could be shrunken to the size of 11 inches. But the basic structure remained same, it was like shrinking it. After his meeting with Voldemort, he had started to train under him. There wasn't much he could be taught as he had already practiced under Mysti and his mother and sisters. But one thing that was very important was what he gained, experience. At the beginning of his training he was made to duel Bella and Antonin. For a month or so he lost against both but eventually he managed to beat them. He understood that his shadow power won't be available all the time. Thus he was made to duel without them. Although it served a double purpose, it increased his concentration and he was playing at a great disadvantage, so if he could win in this situation, then he could win any day with his powers released. It took him better part of his 8th year of life to learn how to duel. He had also learned that his superhuman strength, speed and mental ability were very hard to protect against. He had lost many initial battles as he had not used his superior strength and speed. But once he had revealed them, it was far easier. But that wasn't to say that it had not been painful. He had taken many cruciatus from Bella and tortured by simplest of spells used by Dolovov. The man was a specialist in torture after all. Once he had beaten the two steadily and not lost once in 3 months consecutively, he had been forced to battle both of them together. He was sure if he was anyone else then, he would have lost a good part of his body by now, and had it replaced by animated living silver limbs. Luckily he was not anyone but himself and got healed very fast and the normally fatal dark curses didn't leave any lasting damage on him. They had discovered that most of the so called light spells were not very effective against him as they usually lacked the power to hurt and were very weak against him when he used his full strength. Even the curse like redactor only did was giving him a scratch. He had come on top after 5 months of battling with them. After that he had started to learn the higher level and older more destructive spells from Voldemort himself. He had also mastered elven language and completed his study over his animagus form. He had successfully completed his first animagus form of Nundu. On his first try it had not been difficult to transform back and forth but to control his self and instincts to not go out and kill something. It had taken him over 6 months to just perfect his control over his animagus. He had then started on with Emproxion. It was far more difficult to do so. The ancient dragon was simply far too dangerous and powerful compared to Nundu. Luckily it wasn't beyond him. He was half way through in his control over his animagus. He had transformed in this form a few times, it was a hellish experience. His bones that had gotten used to changing in that of a nundu were far harder and painful in transforming into that of a dragon. Easiest were the wings. But he had gotten used to it. He now only struggled with the control. On Caly's last birthday, the oldest two of Weasley boys had also joined, the second oldest was a dragon handler and very boisterous. His beast had been very difficult to control then. It was snarling and raging in his mind. It had given him a headache for a while. His ability with elements was actually a guarded secret. Only Bella was made aware of it. He had later found that Bella was a fire elemental as he had learned to control it under her watchful eyes. But to their surprise, it had been easiest for him to control. He had not told that he had learned it already, it also helped that she was experienced. He learned water from Voldemort. It was a fact that not even Bella and Antonin were aware of. He had found that water was a far difficult element compared to fire. It was far different to simply produce water than conjuring it. But he had done it. He knew that it could have been just as easy as fire had he used the power of his fey mark. But that was his biggest secret, and he would hold it close to him as long as he could. He had mastered his ability over air as it was a trait that had generated itself in Potter family. He had even beaten Voldemort in a duel, but that had been a once in a while, he had used his shadow power and he still had almost lost. He hadn't managed it after that. Voldemort, though far outclassed in terms of power was vastly superior in experience. He might have succeeded to score more by using sheer force but that would have been beside the point as he was doing this to gain experience. He was improving; they had agreed that it would take them around another 2 years of work if they were to bring him on par with Voldemort considering that he would go to Hogwarts. But that was a speculation.

He had also been introduced to Voldemort's inner circle bar Snape. Snape had been confirmed as a spy by himself after all. They have had a small duel between Bella, Dolovov and him. It was to make sure no one tried anything foolish against him. And true, no one had. He had worn a golden mask in that meeting. Lucius had identified him as the boy he had met with Bella in the alley. He had taken part in a few raids. He had his first kill on his second raid. He had been an observer on his first raid. In his second raid he had killed two aurors with death curse and 1 other who had been caught in the cross fire. He had many times thought that it wouldn't be pleasant. Even Bella, Dolovov and Voldemort had been concerned as they had said that the first was always the hardest. But strangely he didn't feel anything over it. He had felt like nothing had happened. Later after speaking with his mother he had found that it was his fey blood. Fey had no morals like mortals. About brother and sister, mother and father killing or anything. He had also found that in future Maeve and Cádiz might be trying to sway him towards them. It had been an odd talk for him. Thankfully his mother had assured him that they won't force him in anything and she won't look at him as anything but her son. That had really relieved him. Thinking again, 'it wouldn't be a bad future' he mused as he thought himself with either of them. But he was sure that he won't take anyone's side.

Another strange thing that had happened was during his ordinary meetings with Voldemort. It had turned out to be very interesting. It had been hardly 11 months now.

Flashback …..

He entered Voldemort's throne room. He had found that today's training was canceled due to some important business. He had been called here for some reason. Bella had been anxious when she informed him. He saw two people with Voldemort a male and a female if the appearance was to go by. He was a good distance away from them and had every measure taken to hide his presence, he always did. Only Voldemort was the one till now who could catch him as he was sensible to magic. But as soon as he took another step, the two figures turned to look at him. He was impressed. They were obviously good. He strode towards Voldemort without showing a single thing on his face. He scrutinized the two in front of him. The man was quiet muscular but not bulky. He seemed very agile his stance was relaxed and gave nothing away, a barely visible smile on his lips. The girl on the other hand was slender; a figure that he knew many would die for. She held herself with a grace that he had seen only in few and she was very easily graceful than him and he suspected the man was as well. Her stance just as relaxed as her companion. Both had dark blue eyes. Though they had their differences. Man's eyes were dark and cold, unforgiving but there was something that he couldn't put his finger on. The girl on the other hand had deep ocean blue eyes. Her dark red almost black hair swaying in the invisible wind. A small smile graced her blood red lips as he observed her. Two barely visible pointy teeth peeking out of the corners of her lips. 'Vampires' harry thought. He could suddenly feel great restrained power within these two as he took ach step closer. He was surprised by this. It was like the magic was begging to be released. They were possibly near his power level. He got wary, though he didn't let anything reflect on his face. He let his dark aura be visible, but kept it restrained, just like them. The only reaction he got was a little widening in their smiles. He felt a compulsion come over him to notice the girl. But his mind was so much protected that he actually ignored the girl and glanced at the man just to annoy her. When he looked at her again he could see her smile threatening to get bigger like some little girl who had just gotten some candy. But she controlled it well. He reached the raised pedestal and gave a short nod to Voldemort. He greeted him in a whispered and controlled voice. Voldemort greeted back. But the surprise was that he was greeted with his formal title. He was greeted as Lord Potter. He was usually referred as Harry by Voldemort, even in the presence of the inner circle. He took his seat on the right side of Voldemort. He could see that even Voldemort was not as relaxed in his own layer, his wand hand twitched ever so slightly.

Seeing that the introductions were in order all of them stood as one but there was no haste everyone had a grace of their own. "Lord Potter, These are our two guests, this is Lord Marcel Corvun, great grandson of Lord Dracula -"he said while he indicated towards the man "and this is his heiress, Lady Sofiana Corvun" Voldemort said as he pointed the girl. And then Voldemort introduced him to them. Harry gave a short bow to the man and said, "It is an honor to meet you Lord Marcel Corvun." And the man greeted him similarly. Harry then turned to the girl or women as he had no idea, he took her offered hand and lightly kissed her knuckles and greeted her "It is an honor to meet you as well Lady Sofiana Corvun." She gave him a sly smile and greeted him in return. He was shocked to hear that he was present in the company of descendants of Lord Dracula; he was in presence of Vampire Royalty. These were the ones who were known to be able to resist the burning rays of sun like just another normal human. They got seated again and Voldemort called for one of the house elves and asked it to bring refreshments. What was brought was no surprise to him. Two glasses were filled with dark liquid, blood and both he and Voldemort had a glass of white wine each. Voldemort said "Lord Corvun, Lord Potter; had asked for an audience with you. I took the liberty to arrange for it." Voldemort's eyes were a giveaway that he had done this as he had no other option but to arrange for this meeting.

Harry looked at the two and curiously asked "Oh, and what might be the reason for asking a meeting with me?" Harry's curiosity was increased at knowing this, he was sure they could have easily gotten him to meet on their term.

Lord Corvun looked at Harry and said "rumors have reached that you are capable of controlling shadows." It was a plane statement. It indicated that they were already aware of it.

Harry merely said "indeed" as he raised his one eyebrow, making Lord Corvun continue.

Lord Corvun said "If you could shade some light on this ability of yours, we may offer you an alliance." Harry contemplated, his particular ability was already known to many except his identity. He nodded and shadows and the darkness itself started to get close to him, almost like a lover, it slowly covered him part by part. It stopped after a while as he was already covered in pure darkness! Only his glowing eyes were visible. But it stopped abruptly. And everything became normal. Bothe Vampires were looking at him with open awe in their eyes. They got over their awe with him very easily though. They had come here expecting that particular ability so it wasn't enough to keep them in that state. Sofiana had a mischievous smile on her face. Lord Corvun was collected and calm, no expression visible. Then Lord Corvun said "We propose a magically binding marriage contract. We would give you all the knowledge of dark arts, blood magic, soul magic, black magic. We would also give you training in weapon in sword fighting or any weapon you can use or are having any affinity to it." Harry stayed silent for a while. It stretched a while longer.

"You may also be give training regarding your special talent. But that is something I cannot assure you of." Lord Corvun added.

Finally Harry asked "And who might you be proposing that I marry."

"My daughter, of course!" said Lord Corvun. Harry snapped his head in the girls' direction. He was sure that she must be at least 1000 years of old. Currently she was having an amused smile on her face. After thinking harry asked the only question that he could come up with, "Would this marriage entail me turning?" he was now not as composed as he was a while ago. This alliance was obviously beneficial to him; all the training and knowledge would be something that even Voldemort didn't have. He would easily surpass both the sorcerers maybe even the great Nicholas Flamel or Lord Philosopher as he was known.

"No, not at all Lord Potter, that is unless you wish to be." said Lord Corvun. Harry internally heaved a sigh. But he knew that this alliance must have something for them as well.

Harry asked "And what would be your terms for this alliance and marriage?"

"The knowledge you gain from us will remain with you. It cannot be passed onto anyone else. One of the children or if you have only one through my daughter, then that heir would be raised as an heir to the Corvun family." said Lord Corvun with a neutral tone. Sofiana sat there looking at his reactions, he was well aware of that fact.

"But why me Lord Corvun, it makes me curious and wary when I think that I am being offered the hand of a lady who is probably the most powerful in our plane of existence." Harry said curiously while he subtly glanced at Sofiana, watching as a small smile played on her lips and she removed a strand of her hair that had fallen loose and was blocking her vision and tucked it behind her ear.

"But it is very fair Lord Potter that the she be offered to the most powerful person that is not in her family. You still have to reach your majority and gain inheritance from your blood, but still you have enough raw magic that would rival even mine." Lord Corvun said with a smile.

Harry nodded. It was a logical explanation. But he was also indirectly told that he was still not in Lord Corvun's league due to the man's experience. After much contemplation, he asked "may I have a few words in private with Lady Sofiana?"

Lord Corvun nodded. Harry rose from his seat and walked to Lady Sofiana and took her offered hand in his. The y walked away from the room after giving a short nod to both Lord Corvun and Voldemort.

They walked in silence. Once they had reached the outskirts of the Slytherin castle harry took her with him through shadows and they appeared in the forest that surrounded Potter manor. Sofiana was surprised by sudden change in her surroundings and the comforting feeling of the shadow transportation. She looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Forgive me Lady Sofiana, I wanted complete privacy." Harry said explaining the sudden transportation.

She nodded and asked "So what is this about Lord Potter?"

Harry sighed and asked "I don't understand what you gain by this alliance?"

"That Lord Potter is simple, power calls to us. Your blood sings with magic. If you hadn't the ability to control shadows and still held such power, I would have called you a blood mage. Your blood is very potent. I was in Italy when the rumors reached my ears. I came here as soon as I could. Your appearance suggests that you have knowledge that no mere child of ten should. You are versed in the ways of old, you have an air around you that suggests that there are forces beyond powerful that have a part in who you are, either directly or indirectly." Sofiana said this with such seriousness that it left no room for doubts. Harry nodded.

Harry asked his next question with a lot more pleasantness than the wariness he held a while ago. "Tell me a little about yourself Lady Sofiana, I would like to know the person that I am supposed to marry."

Sofiana smiled pleasantly and said "Of course Lord Potter, but call me Sofiana."

Harry smiled and said "If only you call me Harry."

And they talked for some time. She told him about her mother, Lady Morgana–la–fay. She was killed when Sofiana had been barely 32 years old. This lifespan was nothing for an immortal like vampire. Morgana was killed by Myrdin Emrys or Merlin as he was known. It was when father and I were not present. Mother was experimenting with some blood runes when he attacked; she had to complete the series or else she would have died anyway if she had stopped. Merlin killed 7 vampire guards before he killed her. She had almost completed her sequence. But as soon as she died, father was alerted; he hunted down merlin and killed him after 7 long days of torture. Father bound his blood and magic to the service of dark. And then on, his every descendant has been a supporter of dark. House Akuzoi of Japan is the descendants of merlin. After that she had roamed the earth and learned from real experiences. She had killed many Vampire leaders who had dared defy her father's rule. She also told him just why he was the only one who she chose; after all there must have been at least a few like him. She also subtly told him that she was still pure. She after much subtle nudges from him said that, this power over darkness was wielded only by one another person, only one. It was the first vampire, Lord Dracula himself. He had caused a reign of terror through the entire world. He could have ruled it but then he vanished and he was found asleep inside castle Dracula. There was one who wielded the exact opposite power, power of light. But after a while it was found that, they were equal. Finally the lord of light Lord Donathov was somehow killed. There had been 3 lords of light after that. Two of which were killed by Lord Dracula. He finally finding no interest in the world went to a deep sleep. "You Lord Potter are the second Lord of Darkness till now." She had said. The only thing any vampire of Lord Dracula's blood had ever gained was the process of shadow teleportation and ability to hide in them. He also found that she was the first girl in the line.

Harry told her about him a little. This time she had put an arm around his shoulder and took him back to Voldemort's base. There they decided the terms of the contract. He had felt oddly comfortable around her Later harry had told Galvan about everything. Galvan had told him that he had taken good decision.

Flashback ends….

He had also met a number of children his age. Draco Malfoy (would be attending 1st year with him), Theoder Nott (would be attending 1st year with him), Evanna rosier (would be attending 6th year now) and Celest Churnbell (would be attending 6th year now). They were not his friends, they were allies. But they were definitely a better company. No one had seen his face till a few days ago. That day he was introduced to the inner circle and their children with a vow of confidentiality from the members. They knew who he was but not his abilities.

Harry flicked his finger and a green mist rose in the air. It showed 7:54 in morning. He sighed and started to walk down to Caly's room. His little angle was still sleeping. He lovingly caressed her hair and kissed the top of her head. He just sat there looking at her sleeping form. He sighed and lost himself in thoughts of tomorrow as he would be receiving his Hogwarts letter, 11th birth day was actually important since it makes ones magic more in tune with their body naturally. He was thankful that he would not have to go through the pain that came with inheritances anytime soon. He had after discussing with Voldemort, Bella, Sofiana and Galvan decided that he would go to Hogwarts for at least first year. So now he was waiting. 'To see the reactions of the potters would be amusing, wouldn't it?" he mused….


	16. 16 letters

**Disclaimer:** obviously HP universe is not mine!

**A/N:** sorry for the late update fellas! Couldn't help it as I have been busy with college and exams. Hope you like this chapter.

To dalistar123: I really don't understand what your problem is. You like to criticize people that much is sure. After reading your reviews I read your story and let me tell you, you are a moron who thinks too highly of himself. You criticize me because I simply changed Harry to Harrison, you buffoon you yourself have changed his SEX!, really? Don't give reviews if you can't give a proper one. Constructive criticism is always welcome but I won't mind if a moron like you stops reading this story! Sorry others I just had to rant it out. So…. On with the story!

**16. Letters**

Harry woke up next morning, early and fresh. He went through his morning rituals and exercise regimen. He took a bath and absentmindedly walked down towards Caly's room and entered he gently woke her up.

"wanna sweep" she mumbled in her sleep. Harry smiled and shook his head. He again shook her and tried to wake her up. It was always amusing to wake her up. He gently caressed her cheek and said "wake up angel, or would you rather have Lily to wake you up?" she frowned, her eyes still closed. It looked really cute on her. She stirred a little in his direction and opened her green eyes. So much like his but sparkling with full of life.

"No fair brother," she said with a pout. Harry smiled and picked her up and let her in the bath.

Once she was done and elves had helped her with her cloths, he picked her up and they walked down towards the kitchen. When they entered, Lily, James and Nat were already there. He knew that the blacks and lupin would come soon, as they always came early for Nat's party. They took their seats and quietly ate. Lily greeted them, and Nat and James pretty much ignored him but James did greet Caly. Caly greeted back with an indifferent tone and Harry greeted them in a colder tone. Both the males other than him didn't notice it but Lily did. Her smile lessened. Caly had learned a lot from him, she was the only one he was open with. She had seen his interactions with their family and followed in his steps. In her eyes, her brother was everything. She didn't much question him about his treatment over their family. But she was observant and could see the difference in how they treated Nat and them. Although she was treated far better than him and was more of active part of the family, she had an obvious recognition from both her parents as she was first girl born in the potter line of the family. They quickly finished their food and departed the kitchens. Soon they could hear people coming downstairs. They stayed in his room for a few hours while he taught her to concentrate. They had tried different things to make her focus better. He taught her practical magic for a while, more like demonstrated it while explaining the working, but most of the time he taught her different languages, the very basics. He taught her how to read and write in different languages. Mysti would also help in her teaching.

Soon evening dawned and noise started to rise. Harry and Caly came downstairs quietly. They found Roselyn with her mother and made their way towards the pair.

"It's good to finally see you two" Mi-o-kha greeted them. Harry returned the greeting in kind.

He looked at Roselyn and greeted her, "How are you today Roselyn?" he asked with a short nod and a small kind smile on his face. They chattered for a while. Soon after he left, knowing that he wouldn't be missed by many.

Harry could hear the excited shouts of "Happy birthday to you Nat!"

At exact time of his birth time he heard several pops in his room. He turned to see just what it was. His eyes landed on his bed which was now littered with several packages and a good amount of snow. He heard his door knocked and opened, he saw his sister coming bouncing up to him with a smile on her face. When she was near him, she said "Happy birthday brother." And hugged him. She then took out an envelope from her pocket and handed it to him and said, "This is for you." He could see the excitement in her eyes at the prospect of giving a present to her brother for the first time. Harry took it in his trembling hands. He hadn't expected her to give him anything. He opened it. It was a simple birthday greeting card with two figures drawn with a cake in the middle of them. It was animated so that the girl figure would clap as the bigger figure of a boy cut the cake. He was sure that Mysti must have helped her make it. But he was overwhelmed by the fact that his sister had made something for him and that was enough for him.

After a while, Mi-o-kha and Roselyn came in and congratulated him on his birthday. He had put a charm on the gifts so that no one would see them unless he wanted. Mi-o-kha and Roselyn together gifted him with a book on legends. It had been in the Yen library for generations. Her parents had passed just a few months ago and she had inherited everything. She was now the lady of the house with Roselyn as the heiress. She had known that he was interested in magic and as a veela, she could sense power in people. She had sensed it in him a long time ago but had decided to not speak of it to the others as she would have been considered crazy for thinking that Dumbledore was wrong. That was one of the reasons why she had always been good to him. And another was that she found him utterly adorable as a child. Harry thanked her and Roselyn for the gift and then she left Roselyn to play with them as she departed for her and Sirius's room in the potter manor. They played together for some time with Caly and Roselyn also left after a while. Once she was gone, harry locked the room and removed the charm from the gifts. When Caly saw them she started to bounce on her heels and pestered him to open them.

He started to open all the gifts along with his sister. She was practically tearing the covers. He had gotten a box full of his mother's lava cookies and a box of her iceberg cake. They decided to wait till they had opened all the presents before eating the cake and cookies. He had also gotten a book on enchanting from Bella and a book from Sofiana on blood runes. When Caly ate the cookies for the first time she seemed to be in bliss. It was etched on her face. Her posture completely relaxed and a goofy smile on her face. But harry started to worry as she had almost stopped to move. It seemed that her perception of time had gone far slow. He picked her up and laid her in his bed. Deciding that it must be due to her not being enough powerful to contain the sensations of the cookies. He knew that even if something happened, no – one but his mother or sisters could help. He finished all the cookies and cake and went to sleep.

When he woke up he was in his room in the ice castle, standing in front of the mirror. His mother was behind him. He smiled. But he couldn't see her smile back. She held a frown on her face. His smile slowly slipped off and he distinctly started to feel uncomfortable. He turned towards her looking down at his feet, shuffling his hands in his robe pockets. She delicately lifted his chin up with a finger and made him look in the eyes. "My dear harry, what I give you is only for you, do you understand?" she asked in a voice that seemed to pierce through his very being. It was like the words were felt by every being that was him throughout the multiverse. He just nodded. His eyes brimmed with tears and him being unable to formulate any coherent words.

"Good, do not do that again." she said in a whisper and took him in her arms. He cried like a small child. Mumbling 'sorry' for a while with his eyes tightly shut and head pressed against her chest. He also confirmed if Caly would be safe or not. He was relieved to know that his mother was no longer angry at him and Caly would also be fine.

Next day came and harry woke up early in the morning as usual. After finishing his daily morning rituals he got back inside the manor and heeded for Caly's room, hoping she would be out of her trance by now. He gently nudged her to see if she would wake up. She didn't, he heaved a sigh and started to go downstairs formulating an excuse for why Caly wasn't with him. He heard a groan from behind he quickly turned back and looked Caly turning in her bed while groaning. He was by her side in two long steps. He took her head gently and placed it in his lap. He slowly and gently stroked her head. Soon she was awake and looking at him with confused eyes.

"w - wat happened?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and not remembering falling asleep.

"you fell asleep. You feel O.K?" he asked her concerned.

"Yes." She still looked confused but took what he said in stride.

He quickly got some elves to get her ready as it was already nearing 10:30 am.

After getting her ready for the day, they walked down stairs towards the kitchens. Harry never understood why they even dined in kitchens instead of the dining hall. Lily, James, and Nat were already there. Harry and Caly took their seats quietly. Lily greeted them 'good morning' to which she received a grunt from harry and a far less energetic 'good morning' from Caly. Thinking that they were tired due to yesterday's party, she smiled to herself and served food. They didn't receive any greeting from either Nat or James, neither were they expecting any. Halfway through watching James shove food down his throat, they heard a tapping noise coming from the window. Two owls were tapping on the window. James waved his wand and the wards relieved the birds of the letters the letters floated in through the glass window and landed in front of Nat and Lily who were the closest. Lily looked at them and got confused. Both of them had Hogwarts seals on them. Unsure of what to do, she opened the first, it was Nat's Hogwarts letter. She got over joyed and started to fawn all over Nat with tears of joy in her eyes. She then passed the letter to Nat who read it. James was already behind Nat and patting him on his back. Lily then remembered the second letter and took it in her hands and started to open it. Harry was already smirking inside. Caly was confused but stayed quiet. Lily was too stunned to speak. She kept glancing from the letter to Harry and back. James looked at her concerned.

He asked "what is it, Lil's?"

She simply handed him the letter. He took the letter in his hand and opened it. He read it and re - read it, and dropped the letter. Nat got annoyed by the on goings and took the letter in his hand. He read it.

"Harrison James Potter,

Potter Mansion,

Wels.

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Following are the necessities that you'll need for the first year at Hogwarts. " he stopped there and looked up at harry. Then re – read the letter.

he lifted his finger and pointed it at harry and said "But you are a squib!" outraged. Harry was laughing inside but managed to make a confused look outside. "What happened?" he asked. Little Caly was getting even more confused but still kept quiet and watched the scene unfolding.

"you are accepted in Hogwarts" Lily said plainly.

"Oh" was all that he said. He was laughing even louder inside and it was getting difficult for him to keep his confused façade outside.

James got angry and stormed towards him and gripped his left shoulder tightly, it didn't feel painful to him at all as it might have been intended to. Lily and Nat followed them. Caly was getting distraught at seeing this all but he winked at her and she was again calm enough. She made her way towards her room as others were going towards the fireplace. James took hold of Harry and flood to headmaster's office. Albus was sitting behind his desk and sucking on his favorite muggle candy, lemon drops. James stormed up to him with the letter in one hand and dragging Harry by the other.

Albus greeted them in his grandfatherly voice "This is a pleasant surprise, I wasn't expecting you today." His eyes twinkling like always.

But instead of greeting back James thrust forward his hand and dropped the letter on the table and asked in outrage "what kind of joke is this!" Harry stood aside as James yelled out. That was the site that greeted Nat and Lily. Albus noticed this and nodded once in their direction. He frowned and the letter that sat innocently on the table. He picked it up and read through it. His brows rose enough to hide in his hair. That explained a lot to him. he was surprised to know that Harry was also going to attend Hogwarts. He looked at James and sighed.

"This is no joke James. And before you ask, I wasn't aware of this development. The room where the letters are written is hidden inside Hogwarts and is not accessible to even the headmasters. For that matter, no one knows where the room is. The letters are delivered by the owls that cannot be monitored. They leave through an entrance that we unfortunately aren't aware of. And if an owl with tracking charm enters the castle, it is usually cleaned of the charms or redirected outwards. But you should be happy that both your sons are going to Hogwarts, it is a shame that we used to think that he was a squib. He must be a late bloomer; after all there had never been a squib in house of potter. " Albus said the last part with an encouraging smile to make James accept the truth.

"He must have had his first boot of magic late" he added as an afterthought.

With that the Potters took leave of Dumbledore.

"Oh both my babies have grown so much, both leaving me." Lily fussed over him and Nat. Harry didn't even bother to tell her that she hadn't been his mother for a long time, knowing that it would only get him worked up.

"Yes and now both of my children can be in Gryffindor." James said patting him on the back.

For the first time Harry was fussed over by Lily and patted on back by James, however it was for just a sentence which simply made it look like they were pretending.

"Err.. Can you do your shopping by yourself? I need to go and tell Sirius and Remus about it." James said. It was more of an order than a request though. And Harry knew it. he merely nodded.

"Excellent" James exclaimed and summoned a pouch. He handed it to harry and said "It has 500G today you can enjoy yourself." With that he left.

Harry left for Caly's room when he herd "Harry" he ignored it. again he herd "Harry". He stopped and turned to look at Lily exasperated.

"You can come with us – " while holding on Nat who looked like someone has just taken his candy out of his mouth. " – we are going to the Weasley's and then to Diagon to buy Nat, Seamus and Ron and his brothers supplies.

"No I'd rather do it myself. I find the company to be too noisy and idiotic for my tastes." Harry replied coldly. Before Lily could say anything Nat shouted in defense of his friends. And pointed his finger at harry and said "Hey! don't say anything about my friends! They aren't noisy you squib, and they are better than you. You are just jealous because you don't have friends like me." Lily who was holding Nat, winced at the shouting. But she didn't do anything to correct her precious Nat when he called his own brother a squib. Harry who already knew that Nat won't be punished for calling him a squib merely raised an eyebrow and looked at Lily and while completely ignoring Nat said "see what I mean?" Lily felt flushed and looked down. Harry looked at Nat and said "If having friends means associating with people like you, then I am glad to not have any, I can anyway make better friends at Hogwarts I suppose." And he left with that while Nat fumed downstairs.

When he entered Caly's room something collided in his stomach and he was completely unprepared so he fell on his butt. He saw that it was an anxious Caly.

"What happened Harry, James looked furious today." Recently Caly had started to call their parents by name. It seemed that she had started to dislike them even more and her own neglect was not helping any.

He smiled and picked himself up from the floor. Taking Caly in his strong arms, he said "Nothing princes, just a prank that I played. You feel sleepy?"

She nodded in his chest. He put her in her bed and let a small fraction of his power run through her to sooth her worries. She smiled to herself with closed eyes and let herself drift in the world of dreams.

Once Caly was asleep, he vailed near an alley close to Olivander's. Morgana had told him about his ability of traveling through shadows was called vailing. Luckily it seemed that Royal vampires inherited this trait from lord Dracula. He appeared behind a side alley. He walked a few turns and got inside the infamous shop of Julius Olivander.

A bell chimed when he entered the shop. As soon as the door closed, he felt a light brush against his occlumency shields. He smirked when he felt a slight hiss from behind him. he had sensed someone hiding behind the shelf in the back as soon as he entered. He slowly turned in the direction and tilted his head and said "good afternoon mister Olivander" Olivander looked at him awed and confused not knowing how a child could possibly block him. even most adult masters didn't notice him going inside their heads. Harry again asked "would I be getting my wand today or perhaps I could come later?" it meant that he would by his wand from someone else. Olivander shook himself out of his stupor and said "right this way please." And motioned him towards a stool. He sat harry there. And a magical tape sprang into action and started to measure him. it was like Gregorvich had done.

"you'll be quiet the tricky customer!" Olivander muttered. " Which is your wand arm?" he asked.

"left" harry replied not bothering to actually tell that he was ambidextrous.

After that he started to show one wand after another to Harry. "rosewood and dragon heartstring nice and supple." But it was snatched before he could wave it. Same thing happened with the next one and the next one. sometime during his 8th wand being snatched the bell chimed again and a couple with an girl stepped inside. He knew who they were. 'Greengrass family' he thought. Both the mother and daughter had long flowing golden blond hair, identical electric blue eyes, high cheekbone and aristocratic features. The girl was a miniature version of her mother, that was for sure. The man on the other hand was around 5'11" and his wife's height of 5'8" complemented it perfectly. His eyes were dark brown and stoic, his blond hair cut short and his facial structure similar to his wife and daughter. This was the most influential neutral family in Europe. He analyzed them in a single glance as he was sure they were looking at him with the same calculating look that he did a moment ago.

His musings were interrupted by Olivnder's comment. "Quite the tricky customer! But not to worry I'll have something that'll suit you. I hope you won't mind waiting a little more Lord and Lady Greengrass and Ms. Greengrass." He asked the last part looking at the family standing behind him.

"Of – course Mr. Olivander we wouldn't want to interrupt a young man from getting his first wand." Said Mr. Greengrass with a small smile. Harry's robes and the way he held himself was enough to let them know that he was no mudblood or of any lesser house. He was currently wearing one of the robes that he had bought back then. Finest of the stock. But he had not added the house crest and it now worked in his favor, adding a mystery to him.

Olivander went in the backside of the store and brought a few boxes with him. harry felt a slight tug on his magic. It was stronger than he had felt till now from any of the wands tried. But it wasn't anywhere as strong as his staff – come – wand. He opened the box without any instruction from the wandmaker and delicately lifted the wand and felt a rush of power surge through him. The wand was like a simple piece of wood. It was rigid and unyielding. Good for dueling and dark arts as specialty. It was reddish brown in color. He waved it and suddenly their surrounding changed into a graveyard. And with another swish they were back. He looked at the occupants and saw their expressions. Daphnee as he knew the name of the girl was open mouthed just like the wandmaker. Both the Greengrass' had their eyes wide in awe and some fear that he could detect.

"Finally we get the wand for you young sir! But, it is curios, curious indeed." Olivander said. It brought back everyone out of their daze. Daphnee even with her training to be impervious to curiosity was still an eleven year old witch who had witnessed an extraordinary bonding of a wand and a wizard, asked "What is so curious Mr. Olivander?"

Olivander looked at the girl and said "Ah! Ms. Greengrass I was expecting you in these days. And I hope your wands are working well Lord and Lady Greengrass?" he looked at the pair as he spoke.

Daphnee's mother nudged her slightly in the back which let the girl know of the mistake she had made while Lord Greengrass and she nodded to Olivander. Daphnee slightly flushed but quickly tried to bring her mask of indifference in front. But Harry could still see slight pink ting on her cheek. Thinking that better to sate everyone's curiosity, he looked at the wandmaker and asked with a slight smile "Yes Mr. Olivander what is so curious?"

"this wand young sir belonged to one of the greatest wizards till the date. He was none other than Salazar Slytherin himself. One of the founders of the magical school Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. It was crafted specifically for him by my ancestor when Lord Slytherin was in his mid-thirties. Unfortunately the core ingredient is unknown to me. The wood is – " Harry cut of the wand maker by saying "- the wood is of papyrus the tree of life and the core is basilisk fang, from his own familiar if I had to wager a guess." Harry was sure about both the core and the wood because he knew the felling of it and he had seen the wood at Gregorvich's. His comment was again met with wide eyes and the wandmaker almost fainting.

"Thank you Mr. Olivander, how much for this beautiful piece of art?" Harry asked with a slight smile.

"It would be 20 galleons, Sir." Olivander replied.

Harry brought out the pouch that he was given and poured out 20 galleons with but a thought. He turned to the family and faced them properly for the first time. He gave them a small smile. Daphnee took a step forward with a smile and offered her hand while introducing herself "hello, I am heiress Daphnee Greengrass of most ancient and noble house of Greengrass. The eldest daughter of lord Cyrus Dmitri Greengrass of most ancient and noble house of Greengrass and Lady Annabel Greengrass – Kindren of the noble house of Kindren."

Harry took the offered hand and with a charming smile planted a soft kiss on her knuckles. He let her hand go and introduced himself knowing that chaos was sure to ensue after revelation of his identity "It is a pleasure to have you acquainted. I am heir Harrison James Potter of most ancient and noble house of Potter. Eldest son of James Charles Potter of most ancient and Nobel house of potter and Lily Potter – Evans."

After that he turned to the women and curtsied similarly with Daphnee. He then looked at the man and shook his hand firmly. He noted the slightest hint of surprise in Lord Greengrass' eyes. It was understandable after all he was putting equal power in his hand that the Lord in front of him was.

Lady Greengrass spoke "Forgive heir potter, but it was believed that there was only one potter heir besides James potter." Her expressions genuinely curious.

"Please Lady Greengrass, our houses are of same stations so do call me Harry, and yes I am not widely known to people. I don't go in front of press either as I never had any real reason to." Harry said this with a soft smile on his face.

"Of – course Harry, but then I insist you call me Annabel." Annabel spoke.

"You are a very interesting individual heir Potter." Lord Greengrass said with a very calculating gaze and added "After all, it has been over a few decades that any Potter had actually stood for their station."

"Indeed Lord Greengrass, as unfortunate it is, you speak the truth. But hopefully, future of house Potter won't be similar to what it is now. " and with a short bow he added "please call me Harry, Lord Greengrass." This was a crucial point; if his request was discarded then it would be a slight against the Potter name. but it was more likely than not that it would be accepted.

"Of – course Harry, Then I insist you call me Cyrus." Cyrus replied after a while. Harry gave a polite nod and looked at Daphnee "I hope we could meet on the Hogwarts train perhaps, heiress Greengrass?" he asked.

"That would be delightful heir Potter and I insist you call me Daphnee." She replied.

"Of course Daphnee, but you must call me Harry then." Harry said with a charming potter smile that was inherent only in them.

Sensing that it was getting quiet late and thankful that they hadn't been interrupted till now, harry decided to make a move out.

"I am afraid, I must take my leave now, but before I depart-" and with harry waved his new wand conjured two beautiful Daphnee flowers and said "these are two beautiful Daphnee' for the two beautiful ladies." And handed one to each. With that he gave a final nod and left the store, knowing that he had already left them in a surprise. It was understandable after all, conjuration wasn't easy and he was supposed to start his education but had shown that he could already do it. inside the store, he had left the Greengrass family open mouthed and expectant of interesting times ahead.

From the same aley he had entered through, he vailed back to potter manor in his room. He put his things in proper order and left after that. He entered Caly's room and saw her playing with her animated toys. He decided to start her study sessions again. He snuck up on her and spoke in her ear "Caaly" but unlike what he expected, she just continued to play and said "Oh you are back already!" she turned and looked at him expectantly. He removed his new wand from its holster and showed it to her. It was obvious that she wasn't very impressed by this one. After all his crafted wand/staff was far much better looking. After that he started back her studies even though she kept pouting about not wanting to study. He couldn't muster enough strength to tell her that he would be leaving soon….


	17. 17 hogwarts express

**A/N**: thank you for the reviews readers. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. And sorrrry for the late update! Life has been busy what with exams and all that.

ages with respect to Harry : (31st July 1980)

Weasley twins 3 yr older.

Ronald Weasley 1 yr older.

Hermione Granger 1 yr older.

Nymphadora Tonks 4yr older.

Percy Weasley 6 yr older.

Fleur Delacour 4 yr older.

Daphnee Greengrass 1 month younger. (2nd August 1980)

Roselyn Black 2 years younger. (September 4th 1982)

calypso potter 6 yrs younger. (April 29th 1986)

most are approximate assumptions.

**Disclaimer**: of course this fantastic universe of HP is not mine! But the plots and the OC are. This is AU as you already know.

** 17. Hogwarts express**

It was 8th of august; he would be departing for Hogwarts in less than 2 hours. He was already packed; he had received his gifts from Bella and Voldemort. Bella had given him a full wardrobe that fit him perfectly. It consisted of blue, black and green colors. Voldemort on the other hand gave him a multi compartment trunk that was warded by Voldemort himself. The only person able to open it was him as it was warded with blood wards and parselmagic. Harry had first thought that he could actually vail back and forth. But he later found that it was keyed to Salazar's magic alone and protected against anyone else vailing. Luckily he had he had made a good decision earlier and introduced Sofiana to Caly.

Flashback…

"Caly would you like to meet a friend of mine?" Harry asked smiling at Caly. She vigorously nodded. She knew that Harry had never mentioned anyone as friend and that really got her curiosity up. Shadows started to gather beside him and formed the beautiful form of the vampire princes, Sofiana. Caly was wide eyed; she had never seen anyone other than Harry use such a way of transportation.

Sofiana smiled at the wide eyed Caly and said "Hello Caly. I am Sofiana, a… friend of Harry's." Sofiana had discreetly thrown a glance at Harry while she introduced herself.

The usually reserved Caly who would hardly speak to others was already starting to like this stranger. She could do the cool vailing!

She excitedly said "You can do that too! Harry can also do that."

With that the only two women in the room started to chatter. He stood aside as they chattered excitedly. Well Caly was more excited than Sofia (he had a while ago started to call her that), but even she seemed to genuinely enjoy being with Caly. It was like the two had all but forgotten him. It seemed that Caly was far more influenced by him than he previously imagined. She wasn't this open with even Roselyn who was close to her age by far compared to Sofiana. He had, over the time gotten very close to Sofiana. He still held his bigger secretes but they had shared almost everything about their lives. He for the first time actually looked at Sofia, her pale complexion, smooth and flawless skin, those lustrous blood red lips, her dark red almost black hair swinging in the slow rustling wind that came through the open window. She would tuck a loose strand of hair that would come in front of her eyes ever so often. It made her look …attractive he had to admit, not that she usually wasn't but she usually didn't act like all the typical girls, most of the time they sparred, in those times, she looked… well beautiful but deadly none the less. He had gotten quiet close to the girl and he liked the fact that she got along with Caly well.

His musings were interrupted by Caly's shouts of "Harry, Harry! kitty! kitty! Show her kitty!" Sofiana looked at him curiously with a raised eyebrow, he had never mentioned about any kitten. "Err.." He scratched the back of his neck with a slight chuckle and waved his hand producing his patronus. He could see Sofia raise both her eyebrows at him; he could almost feel her amusement. It was no wonder that she had identified what his patronus was. She said "really harry, a.. kitty?" she was barely concealing her mirth. His patronus was playing with Caly, hopping in front of her and Sofia. Caly was showing off her Kitty to Sofiana who couldn't control herself as a while later she burst out laughing. Well this was new to him he hadn't seen her laugh like that before. It made him smile watching her laugh was…. Nice. Once she had gotten herself under control she looked at harry and shook her head, her smile still adoring her face. Caly had become confused why Sofia was laughing. When she voiced her confusion, Sofiana winked at her and whispered in her ear "It's a secret. I will tell you when you are older." Caly pouted at that but let it go.

Flashback ends….

Sofiana had promised to be with Caly whenever she could. But Harry was anything but blindly trusting sheep. He had taken protection from her house for Caly as well in the contract. So that assured her safety not that he didn't trust her now. But he didn't then and it was always better to be careful than sorry. But now.. now it seemed that it hadn't been necessary. They had gotten close, close enough that he could see Sofia considering Caly as her child.

A quick tempus told him that it was 9:15. They were going to floo to the magical side of the 'King's Cross' station. He took his packed trunk and was about to go downstairs when the door suddenly opened and a frantic Caly entered, tear faced. He let the handle of the trunk down and rushed to her. Some buffoon has already told her that he was leaving. He hugged her as she cried and kept pleading him to not go and leave her alone here.

"Please don't go harry, please-" hiccups "-harry-" hiccups "-don't go." she pleaded.

Harry's resolve was already faltering. He couldn't see her crying.

He consoled her "shh. Don't cry my angle you know, it is important for me to go or I would never leave you alone, you know that don't you?" he felt her nod in his shoulders as he was on his knees. He let her a little lose to look in her eyes. She let go of him and look down guiltily. She knew her brother wouldn't leave if it wasn't necessary.

He raised her chin making her look him in the eyes and said "Don't worry angel, I will be back by Halloween or sooner if I can. Till then Sofiana would be with you. O.K. ?" she nods. Her eyes welling up with fresh tears. He quickly hugged her and tried to sooth her frantic mind. Once she had calmed down enough, he cleaned both of them and took her in his arms while dragging his trunk single handedly. They came down by 9:45 where they could see the frantic potter family who had again forgotten that he would also be going to Hogwarts. When they saw him and Caly, they looked guilty and asked if he was ready. He coldly replied "yes" and took a seat on the Sofa. Caly positioned herself beside him, clutching his hand like an only lifeline. Once Nat's frantic last minute packing was done, they flooed to the station one by one. Harry knowing Caly's state choose to vail to the station backyard.

He had Caly in his arms again; she was now hugging his neck tightly. His trunk obediently followed them, a simple charm. When he entered the front side of the platform he saw that a lot of people were crowded in one place, a little away from the floo station. 'Of – course, their precious Boy – who – lived was joining Hogwarts; media was bound to be here.' He wasn't far away from the apparation point on the platform. He could see a lot of red hair on the platform no doubt it were Weasleys. He could see the tall and handsome form of his godfather. Deciding that for Mi-o-kha's sake he would go there. He gracefully walked towards the crowd, knowing that Mi-o-kha would not be a part of the crowd but on the outskirts. On the backside he easily caught sight of her with an almost 9 year old Roselyn. He approached them. Mi sensing his familiar aura looked in his direction with a smile.

Harry approached her. "Hello Mi-o-kha and rosy" he greeted them. He could hear some giggling of girls and some older girls glancing in his direction, whispering how cute it was that he was holding his sister. He paid it no heed as Rosy and Mi also greeted him. Caly looked at them letting her hold on his neck loose.

She said "Hi" although it wasn't as enthusiastic as it usually would have been.

"Looks like little Rosy is not pleased with you leaving her." Mi-o-kha said.

"It would seem so, yes." Harry replied with a tired smile. After that a while later he took their leave. It was around 10:15am and he was going to wait till it was 10:30 as the train would leave at 11:00am. Most of the reporters had started to leave as they had gotten the spices that they needed to keep their pages filled for a while. He felt a hand gently land on his shoulder. He smiled to himself. He turned and looked at the smiling face of Sofiana. Although her smile was a sad one. Harry gently put Caly down. She had already recovered, he could see it. But there were traces of sadness in the smile that she was giving him. He once kissed her on her forehead and let her go.

She caught Sofia's hand and said "please come soon, brother" he nodded and replied "I will."

He gave Sofia a peck on her cheek and told her to take care of both herself and Caly. He was leaving when Sofia stopped him with her hand catching his. She brought out some book from her outer robe and handed it to him. Harry gave a thankful nod and once put his hand on Caly's head and then left for the train, removing his hand from over Caly's head. He had already seen Malfoy's, Zabini's, Greengrass's and other potential families in the crowd. He searched for an empty compartment which didn't take long as most students boarded the train on almost at the last minute.

He quickly put some strong wards that would prevent anyone from noticing much less entering the compartment. After that he settled his trunk in his pocket in shrunken form. He hadn't wanted to do such advanced stuff in front of everyone. Voldemort hadn't put such basic enhancements knowing that harry could cast them without a hitch and harry wanted to surprise everyone with his prowess. He looked out of the window; Caly was looking at his compartment as he was visible from the window. She was waving him goodbye. Harry signaled them to leave. Sofiana turned and left with Caly. But when they had turned and left harry could see his mother looking right at the spot they had been when they left. He heard a scathing comment from Molly but ignored it. He turned knowing that Caly would easily handle Lily even if she had seen her. He could see the Weasley matriarch smothering Nat and Ron as this was their first Hogwarts trip. Ginny was crying her eyes out because she wouldn't be able to be with Nat. Molly kept reassuring her that she would go next year as she was still not 11 year old. Slowly everyone was on board and the train whistled.

Harry kept looking outside of the window, at the far reaching farms and jungles that spread throughout the journey. He sighed and opened the book that he was given by Sofiana. It was a photo album of the times he, she and Caly had spent together, enjoying. It actually had some photos of their kitty as well. After watching the photos harry tucked the book inside his pocket and started to look out of the window at the flying birds and in some rare cases a griffin or two. This whole area was a magical sanctuary. Many different kinds of magical beasts lived here.

His eyes spotted a black mass quickly approaching towards the train. He curiously looked at it. It got bigger and bigger with every second that passed. Harry's eyes widened when he recognized the majestic form of the Braiden. Violet edges of its majestic wings sparkling in the sunlight. Harry gave a short nod in respect of the legendary creature. It started to fly by his window side from a distance and it would glance at him in every once in a while. After some time it started to dissolve in a mist and the mist started to enter through window. It formed the smaller form of Braiden in the small compartment. It floated in air in front of him, looking him dead in the eye. He felt like his very soul was being judged.

He herds in his head "I have chosen you young one, heir of Melenda the fae queen."

"Huh" he didn't know what to say to that. He instinctively knew that it was Braiden.

He looked at him and asked "w – what do you mean?"

He heard a chuckle. The strong voice said "You have yet to learn of your destiny. You are protected by the fae queen herself. I can see it all. Not everything is set in stone but you are going in the right direction. I will be there to help you, to guide you when you need it. To protect you if necessary and the best way to do that would be by bonding, making a familiar bond."

"Bu – but why me?" Harry asked not really understanding what was being spoken about.

"Simple, fate has a hand over you. The pity quarrels of the humanity are not going to last long. War of the old will be waged again. The great beings would once more make this plane of existence their battlefield."

With that Harry started to see flashes of a war fought eons ago. The terribleness of it all makes him unconsciously shed tears. He Watched as the mighty demons and beyond beautiful angles clashed their powers. How many of them were slain. He watched as the beauty of Avalon and Atlantis fell to smithereens, destroyed. After watching it, Harry felt…. insignificant. Witnessing the power of those beings pushed even him on his knees. And to think that he was one of the most powerful on earth, his confidence shattered.

Finally after gathering his wits together he asked "W – what can fate have for me? I – I find myself too insignificant compared to them." He was no longer sitting on his seat. He was already brought to his knees by what he had seen. He hadn't even realized it.

"Oh I assure you young one, that you are probably the most significant key of the future. What is there for you is not for anyone to know. But the weave of fate around you is very strong making you far more significant than you may think. You are fragile now, and not so powerful to handle the burden of facing any of it. But with time will come power and experience and with that, will come responsibility. It is a simple matter of whose side you will take."

Too heavy with the knowledge, harry merely nodded.

"But before we bond, you must know that I will not hide my true nature from anyone, they are… insignificant." Harry again nodded.

Braiden made a cut on his left wing followed by making a thin gash on Harry's left shoulder. Harry hissed in pain as it felt like a very hot knife has been used to make the cut. Both the cuts were met in a vertical line showing the equality of the bond. Braiden started to hum a soft melody outwardly. He didn't understand it, but it felt oddly comforting all his worries seemed to vanish in a puff of smoke. But then suddenly he felt pain all over. He wanted to scream but he somehow was unable to move even a single muscle of his body. He was completely overcome by pain just when he thought it would never end, it stopped. He was already starting to heal. He could feel it. As soon as the force or whatever had been holding him was lifted, he fell on his back. He looked at the sealing for a while, panting and not knowing how long it would take to recover and not wanting to slow down the process of healing. After a while he got up slowly he felt… better now. And perhaps more powerful than he had before the bonding. 'The bonding!' he thought and looked around the compartment to find Braiden. He was floating above his head.

He heard a voice in his head "Our bonding is complete. It will take complete effect by an hour. You will find some little changes in your appearance. Your height will grow not significantly but a little. Most importantly, your eyes would look darker and have black specks in them. And as for your abilities, you will be immune to any poison, light or dark. You would be able to simply tell when something is wrong with your food or drink. Those are instincts of your animagus forms that will be heightened. Once you complete your transformation into a Braiden animagus you will be an immortal like me, both in human and animagus form, be it any. Understood young one?"

Harry nodded a while later and asked out aloud "so can I speak to you telepathically or I need to speak it out aloud."

Braiden chuckled in his head and said "yes, you can speak to me telepathically. You only need to think of what you wish to say while thinking of me. I am sure you will find a link to me when you have found out your magical core. But an advice young one, don't take too much time to locate it."

Heeding the warning then he grinned evilly and said "How about a grand entrance…"

**Back on the train station while the train left for Hogwarts**….

Once Nat had left to get on the train, Lily looked around. She spotted a beautiful witch standing with Calypso (yes she had accepted that name) or it appeared to be as they vanished. Just behind them in the train compartment she spotted Harry. Her eyes widened 'oh my! I forgot about Harry!' the frantic witch thought.

Her friend who she had met during their numerous Order meetings, Molly looked at her and then where Lily was looking at. Her eyes also widened when she realized that it was Harry. She had forgotten that Harry was also going to Hogwarts. But that was no reason for harry to not say good bye to his own mother in her opinion.

After consoling her daughter and promising that she could go to Hogwarts next year, She put an arm around Lily's shoulders and said "Poor Lily, Harry didn't even say goodbye to you. It's O.K he must have forgotten. He after all isn't Nat, who always remembers to say goodbye to everyone else. Harry had always been like that; he hadn't really cared for what your family did or wanted. He always thinks about himself. But we must understand that he might be jealous of his brother, don't worry it will get well soon."

After staying a while longer the families departed. James left for his auror duties. And Lily returned back home alone. She was thinking about Harry, how could she have missed him? Had it happened before? She never forgot anything about Nat. she slowly climbed the stairs. She reached Caly's room and peeked inside. She saw Caly sleeping. Then her eyes widened in realization as she thought that she remembered seeing Caly on the platform with someone. But she brushed the thought aside as her imagination. After all she hadn't even seen that women in all her life and how could Caly be outside? She smiled to herself thinking that now she could spend a lot of time with her daughter and perhaps her tuny would actually accept the name she had wanted to give her. Lily closed the door and left for her and James's room as she dreamed of spending the perfect time with her daughter. Again the thoughts of harry forgotten like before. If only she knew how wrong she was about Caly….

**Back in the train in present**….

It was almost 5 in the evening. One thing Harry was sure about, journey to Hogwarts was long.. Painstakingly long. Braiden had also left to do whatever he wanted to as there was yet a lot of time to waste. He decided to go and search for Daphnee. It was a good time as any. He let the charms on the door drop and cracked his neck and was about to open the door when it slid open.

A bushy haired witch peeked inside; baffled as she hadn't noticed the door before, she asked "oh this door wasn't here a while ago. Have you seen a toad? Neville had lost one." harry sighed it seemed that his journey was going to be longer than expected if he had to associate with stupid children who don't have enough sense to knock or ask for permission before intruding on someone else's private space. Especially if these people appeared to have a bossy know-it-all attitude that the girl was showing.

When the girl didn't get an answer she properly looked at him and promptly said "oh! You look so much like Nat! Are you his older brother or something? I haven't heard about you. I am Hermione Granger by the way." She stated extending her hand. Harry starting to get annoyed walked past her while pushing her completely outside the compartment with a physical shield that he conjured with a thought and closed the compartment behind him while simultaneously activating the wards preventing anyone else from noticing it. He sneered at the offending witch and turned left. He sensed the witch gaping at him and glaring all together and then stomping away. He saw a trolley full of sweets and candies was being dragged by a lady through the train. He peered through the doors his sight allowing him to find the familiar aura of Daphnee. He found it and knocked on the door. The door slides open a while later.

A witch with auburn hair and pretty face with chocolate brown eyes peered outside. "Yes?" she asked "Can I help you?" she added with a slight smile and a raised eyebrow.

Harry smiled the charming smile of potters. And said "Ah, I apologize for intruding but may I know if heiress Greengrass is here, Ms?"

The mentioned witch smiled a bit and said "Davis, Tracey Davis. But I believe Introductions can be made inside. You don't appear to be a first year." She said while giving him space to enter. She sat beside Daphnee and the door closed behind him. He quickly cast a few spells on the door and looked at the occupants of the compartment.

He looked at Tracey and said "I am a first year but it would seem that I am an early bloomer, Ms. Davis."

The other two witches looked at him. Daphnee registering who it was, narrowing her eyes and raising an eyebrow she said "Oh look who joins us!" her anger evident in her eyes and sarcasm dripping in her voice.

Harry took a step forward with an apologetic smiling and said "I understand that you are angry at me and rightfully so, I merely hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me. As an appreciation of you being acquainted with me I hope you accept this." With that harry swiftly removed his wand and waved it in an intrinsic pattern and a bunch of Daphnee' were in his hand, glowing beautifully. Daphnee felt a ting of magic but it vanished as soon as it came.

She looked at the offered flowers and folded her arms and said "you can't gift the same thing to a girl every time potter." Her proclamation elicited gasps from Tracey and a little widening of eyes from the last witch.

Harry merely smiled and said "ah but it is different, do you know how?"

Daphnee tilted her head and asked "how?" her anger replaced by curiosity.

"As long as you hold even the tiniest bit of faith in me, it will glow and the flowers will last till they keep glowing." It was an incredible piece of magic. It required far more skill than power. He had just proven that he had both. By conjuring the flowers. It was after all a task that was taught in 5th year at Hogwarts. He had impressed the other two witches while also taking Daphnee's anger down.

Daphnee looked at him for a second trying to be angry at him but failed and she smiled "You know well how to impress someone don't you Harry."

It was more of a statement than a question. He smiled and with a short bow said. "I try."

"Join us, i.e. if you two don't have anything against it?" Daphnee asked the last bit directing at the other two girls.

"Not at all" both of them replied.

"Thank you." Harry said and took a seat beside the third witch that he hadn't noticed till now. She was a brunet witch with dark blue eyes. Her face as aristocratic as any that he had seen. Her face shaped like an egg. But she looked pretty. He held no doubts that each of the girls in his company would be lookers in future. Daphnee introduced him to others and others to him. They chattered a bit. Asking him how they had never heard of him. He told them that he had never wanted to be associated with the other potters as the fame that came was not his to take. While he knew it to be a lie, that is what everyone believed and he needn't change that. The third girl was Blaize Zabini. Heiress of the Zabini line. Tracey had an older brother in ravenclaw at Hogwarts and was in 6th year. Once they had properly gotten acquainted they settled in comfortably.

Blaize and Tracey were now in an argument over blood purity. Harry decided not to comment unless asked. The time came sooner than expected Blaize looked at him and asked "what is your opinion potter? Blood purity is justified or not?"

Harry tilted his head in her direction and swept a glance over Daphnee and Tracey. Both had calculating yet curious expressions on their faces. He himself was a half-blood and a practically unknown so his opinion was indeed going to raise their curiosity.

He smiled and said "now, whatever I say is the true fact that I speak. I hope you do not judge me on It." he saw all the three witches nod.

He again spoke with a serious tone that Daphnee hadn't heard him use before. "Blood, is important. You must know that blood magic was blocked due to its power and potency. This is a proof that blood holds power. In magical world, freely given blood can be used in many ways, good as well as bad. Now how does that happen? You might ask. It is because our blood is what carries our magic. In a way it is what many call as the magical pathways. Our blood has collective strengths and traits of our ancestors. That is why most of the purebloods are powerful, certainly above average. Even many half-bloods are stronger than most average populace. That is why many of the old bloodlines hold a particular trait. Like the Greengrass have always been closer to Gaia, the earth. They have produced many earth elementals till now. The Lords of the house in those times held mystic powers to grow plants at an enormous rate without damaging them. It is a gift from magic to them. For being loyal to it. Magic is not just a tool. No it has its own conscious. New generations i.e. muggleborns or mudbloods, whichever you may prefer, they aren't a threat per say as everyone believes. They are weak, well, most of the times anyway. They are what make the most of the magical populace after the half-bloods after all and they are the pioneer of the future generations of purebloods. However that is in faraway future. Thus it would be illogical to say that they should be eradicated. But on the same time they can't be let loose. They must be shown where they stand in our society. They don't know what our culture is, what magic wants from them. Similarly the blood-traitors those who have shunned our traditions to accommodate for the new blood, the so called light, they should be reminded what truly is that matters. But alas our world now is at the brink of war. What those 'light' have so foolishly done, can't simply be undone. Even with magic it is not possible to simply change or manipulate past. Only a few of the true legends have such power over that element. We cannot even fathom their power."

Harry had by now become passionate in his little speech. All the three were looking at him with full attention immersed in his words and their knowledge.

He continued "so the responsibility lies upon us to uphold what our ancestors had once achieved and which had deteriorated over time. It is our duty to not only keep what we have but also to reach those heights past and dare I say, even beyond."

He looked at them and asked in a whisper "Do you know how powerful our ancestors were? How many sorcerers used to roam this planet?"

They shook their heads negative except for Daphnee who gave a small nod. He gave her a small nod back and again continued "some 8 millennia ago this planet was littered with power, active magic. Most of the magical folk who lived then were Sorcerers very few were ever witch or wizard. Even then they could take today's most top ranking personal easily. Why you may ask? Simple, knowledge. They held knowledge of all the branches of magic known to them. While today most of us have limited our knowledge to a certain sections. Most of the more powerful magicks are banned by labeling them as dark. But the true reason they were labeled as such is to accommodate those mudbloods."

He again swept a glance through his small audience and spoke "Ask your selves is that good? Our institution, where Great Salazar and the most brilliant minds of that time used to teach these so called dark and forbidden arts, it has become but a fragment of what it once used to be. They say that dark arts are alluring, corrupting but is that really so? In truth it is simply too powerful that the weak minded fall to it. The power that it exudes makes them want more even if they are incapable of handling it. They feel weak compared to others and thus slowly lose their sanity in search power. With time the weak blood got mixed more and more with the older bloodlines and thus weakening the magic. Shouldn't we actually do something for it? That was why the marriage contracts came into existence. Unlike the belief that the muggleborns and the blood traitors have spread that it is simply an old barbaric method where people are treated as objects, it was used to keep the blood pure and it worked to some extent. The new pureblood generations are a living testament of that. Most of the families that we see in the higher echelons are married through the contracts. Some would question, but does that bring happiness? How can someone be happy in a forced contract?"

He took a break and conjured a glass of water and drank. Every one of them watching and expecting more from him.

He continued "But don't doubt yourselves or the traditions. For such decisions aren't taken lightly. Yes in some very rare cases, some would treat their own as such. But in most cases the people who are supposed to marry have either known each other for some time or they do it once the thoughts of such a contract are taken into consideration. Again, ask your parents, had you known each other before your marriage? Were you comfortable with it?"

He received a nod from the three so he continued "most of the times you would get a positive answer. Look at the Weasley family in France and one here in Britain. The difference is profound. Matriarch of the Weasley family here is Arthur Weasley. His father had married a muggleborn but his family still accepted it. They had given him a substantial amount that would have lasted him for a few generations. But as we can see, it didn't. What happened? You might ponder. What happened is that the muggleborn witch was too much in the muggle world. She liked gambling and dragged her husband into it. He lost a substantial amount of his wealth. But by the time he realized it, it was too late. We now see how poor they have become. They can barely stand in the society. If it were not for molly Weasley getting her monthly allowances from her family, then they wouldn't even have had enough to complete their children's education. Arthur Weasley is too busy in his praising of muggles that he probably fails to realize that. He had thought that he was marrying out of love, but did he really? It is very much possible that he was dosed with a love potion. While the line in France is well respected and well off like most of the other old families."

Harry pointedly looked at Tracey who looked on the verge of tears and softly said "that doesn't mean that we shouldn't marry muggleborns. No, that is always preferable over inbreeding. But that should be thought over well. If the said muggleborn has actually embraced our world, understood our traditions and is ready to make him/her a part of our society then there shouldn't be any problem but we should also remember the consequences. For the generation that would rise would be substantially weaker than it otherwise would have been. For muggleborns to understand us we should have preschools or a compulsory course in the main curriculum so that would teach them these values. It doesn't necessarily mean that we should feel superior and treat them as inferiors. But we must tell them and if necessary, show them where they stand. Schools **are** for education but this very important part is left out of today's institutions. It is far too late as the so called light has gotten too much sway over the populace, so much as corrupting minds of those of Noble bloodlines. I hope you understand the gravity of where we stand now?"

He swept his eyes over all of them. Silence reigned for minutes as they contemplated his words.

Finally Tracey looked him in the eye while tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she asked with a small tilt of her head, her face expressionless but the challenge evident in her eyes "So… does that mean you admit, that purebloods…. Most if not all… are powerful than you?"

He smiled at her. Her question was like a trap, a challenge to make him eat his words and admit that he is weaker than others. He glanced at others. This had gotten them interested as well.

He peered closer to her "not at all Tracey – if I may call you that?"

She nodded.

He smiled and continued "not at all. For what I told you is only about the wizarding world. Do you honestly believe that what we know or think is all that is there about magic?" He was now smiling mysteriously. His eyes glowed with the power within. Tracey gulped and backed a little, her eyes wide, fear evident in them. His eyes got back to their normal shade of green with black specks.

He continued "there are other worldly powers that as I had said earlier, are beyond your comprehension….Potter family is old... Older than you could have ever thought…." Harry left it at that.

No one further questioned him on it. All of them were in their own thoughts. They heard an announcement stating that they were getting closer to the station. It was indeed getting closer to 7:00pm, barely 25min were left. He excused himself by telling them to get changed in their school robes as they would soon reach the Hogsmeade station. He walked past a couple of upper years and soon got inside his compartment. He opened the door and entered it. He slid the door close behind him with a wave of his hand. He changed his inner robes into his school robes. He then exited his compartment as he already had his trunk shrunken in his pocket. He felt the train slow down and come to a halt. He could hear students rushing out.

He exited the train when the numbers had thinned down. He glanced around, feeling the cold in the air that comforted him. He heard a booming voice from the very front of the small gathering of the first years. He saw Hagrid. Hagrid was a half human with blood of a giant in his veins. His coat of fur and dense unruly beard striking out as always. Harry calmly walked towards him and stood at the very end of the gathering.

"All firs' yers'?" Hagrid asked. "Right en" he said signaling them to follow him.

Hagrid spoke over his shoulder as he led the first years "Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," they were walking down a narrow path which had suddenly opened on the edge of a great black lake. They saw it, Hogwarts castle. It was perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky. It had many towers.

They again heard Hagrid shout "No mo' en four ter a boat!" many of them winced at the high pitched voice. He directed them towards a number of boats. Harry could still hear oooh and ahhhs of other students who were mesmerized and awed by the castles beauty. Harry on the other hand had seen better, far better as he remembered what his mother's impenetrable fortress looked like from the outside. It was a structure so beautiful that his words weren't enough to express it. It glowed crimson sometimes yellow and always had a bluish sheen to it.

Harry saw Daphnee and the others waiting in front of a boat. He walked towards them. They gave him a nod in acknowledgement.

He asked "shall we?" with a small tilt of his head.

The three witches nodded and harry helped them get into the boat and then got seated himself. They waited in a comfortable silence for the boats to start moving while a few of the clumsier students still tried to fit themselves somewhere.

Once everyone was aboard, Hagrid who was sharing a boat with Neville, said "All in? right en, FORWARD…."


	18. 18 hogwarts and sorting

**A/N**: thank you for the reviews readers. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. And soooo sorry for the late update! But thanx to those who still stuck with me! Enjoy this newest post! also the error with Caly's eye color is fixed in ch 11.

**Disclaimer**: of course this fantastic universe of HP is not mine! But some plots and the OC are. This is AU as you already know.

** 18. Hogwarts and sorting**

All boats started to move forward on his verbal command. After a little while hagrid shouted "now in a moment yer ol will get yer firs' view of ogwarts! Heads down!" they had to duck under the roof of a small cave like entrance that served as an opening to Hogwarts. The ride till now was filled with small whispers here and there, nothing interesting yet. Soon they exited the tunnel, and he could hear gasps of awe from almost everywhere. Tracey faintly breathed 'beautiful'. Harry had to agree that though it wasn't as magnificent as his home (Melenda's castle) Hogwarts was a sight to behold in this time of the day, but it was not a big deal for him and he kept his expression as calm as ever. Though Daphne and Blaize couldn't stay the same. He had no doubts that that their home manor were nothing short of spectacular but even then Hogwarts was on a whole new level. It was a masterpiece created by four sorcerers of that era. Thus it was no surprise to see them open jawed at the castle. He fully turned towards them and with a soft smile asked "not bad, is it?"

With a raised eyebrow, Daphne asked "Really now Harry, just good? What would make you feel awed then hmm?" Harry just smiled a bit wider and said "oh, nothing much, this and that, you know?" and left at that. Girls didn't pry anymore in the matter. Rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence. They soon arrived at the shore. He was the first to get off the boat and helped the girls out. They heard Hagrid calling everyone to gather around and follow. They again opted to stay behind and watched as Hagrid called out for Neville and handed him his toad. Then they were lead through the massive gates of Hogwarts towards the castle entrance. When they reached the door, Hagrid knocked thrice with his massive fist thrice. As soon as he did so, the doors swung open inside revealing professor McGonagall. He had seen the old witch a few times at his home so he knew about her. Hagrid introduced, "Professor McGonagall, firs' yers; firs' yers professor McGonagall." McGonagall then took charge and said "thank you Hagrid, I will take from here." With that Hagrid parted and McGonagall turned to the first years. She asked them to follow her and took them across the flagged stone floor. They could hear muffled voices across the small hallway that they had come from to the chamber they stopped in. Most first years had huddled closer to each other than they would have done otherwise. Most muggleborns were looking around nervously.

McGonagall again turned to them and started to explain things about Hogwarts in a practiced speech. "Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

"In order of favoritism," Harry commented to others and they sneered as McGonagall continued.

"Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house-cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingered for a moment on the Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose, and then she gave a small smile and nod to Nathan who was standing with Ron as she left.

Soon after she left, chattering started. Nat asked about their sorting saying "Do you know how we are sorted? Mum or dad wouldn't tell me" to which Ron replied, "Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Granger had already started to recite the spells that she had read.

"Of course he was joking," Draco drawled, watching as the whole audience suddenly looked at him, "Or are you thick as well as stupid Weasley?"

"Malfoy." said Weasley in distaste. His cheek turning red at the insult he was issued.

Draco would have continued further but Harry interfered and said "now now Mr. Malfoy, we are more civilized than trolls. No need to be worried about Mr. Weasley's brain's functionality, I am sure it must have just been nervousness. Or I'd be worried for safety of all of us during classes." He could clearly hear most of the students snickering behind.

He continued, "And Mr. Weasley, I seriously hope that you can use magic more than you are using your brains right now and for your information, they put a hat on our head and then, after a quick read of our magical potential, the hat puts us in Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor." By now Draco had already recognized him and gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

"Hey! You look like Nat a little." Ron seemed to observe while trying to change the center off topic mainly his brain capacity. Nat supplying him with the information whispered "he is my brother Ron." Ron looked shocked.

Then, a gasp made them all turn, Harry actually sighed to himself as he had already felt it first, "What the -."

About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves. He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what you all are doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose." A few students nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." They turned to see McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line," McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Harry got into line behind Draco who stood behind till only they were left. The three girls all stood behind him. Behind him first was Daphne followed by Blaize and then Tracey who had well recovered after the train ride. They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

He could hear gasps from students all around.

The place was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty-silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars; almost at once, he felt a lot calmer than ever. he could faintly see the traces of magic of the castle closing in on him soothingly. Harry knew that it was the castles way to greet a Lord of the founder's line. He looked above to see the ceiling represent a night sky. He knew from his studies that it was charmed to always show the outside view of the sky. He heard Granger say that it was bewitched. But he knew who had done it. It was great Salazar himself.

Daphne nudged him and he looked back down. He saw McGonagall silently place a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she placed a pointed wizard's hat that was patched, frayed, and extremely dirty. As he stared at the hat, it twitched, then a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and the hat began to sing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, But don't judge on what you see, I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black, your top hats sleek and tall, for I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see so try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor where dwell the brave at heart, their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw If you've a ready mind, where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in safe hands (though I have none) for I'm a thinking cap."

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat bowed to each table then became still again then McGonagall stepped forward and the hall instantly quieted down.

"When I call your name, you will step forward, put on the hat, and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, and sat down.

"Hufflepuff!" The table on the right cheered and clapped as a very pleased Hannah went to sit with her new housemates.

"Bones, Susan!"

"Hufflepuff!" Susan raced off to sit next to Hannah. Harry saw them exchange a quick high-five.

"Boot, Terry!"

"Ravenclaw!" The table second to from the left clapped this time. Harry actually smiled as he noticed several students stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. Draco nodded.

"Ravenclaw has always had good manners." Tracey commented.

Harry kept observing as "Brocklehurst, Mandy!" joined them before Professor McGonagall moved on

"Brown, Lavender!"

"Gryffindor!" The table on the far left exploded in cheers and catcalls. Harry sighed in exasperation.

"Do they have to be so loud?" he thought.

Draco shrugged. "It's Gryffindor." He said this as though it explained everything; as Harry thought it over, he supposed it probably did, after all Nat and James both were quite the loudmouths.

"Bullstrode, Millicent."

"Slytherin!" The table second from the left clapped politely.

Harry saw that everyone in a three person radius of where Millicent sat introduced themselves. "And that is one of the many reasons I want to be in Slytherin. It would be difficult for one to actually find anyone out of decorum."

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

The hat took almost a full minute to decide where to place him.

"Gryffindor!

"Goldstein, Anthony!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Goyle, Gregory!"

"Slytherin!"

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione ran to the stool and jammed the hat on her head. Harry could see her lips moving as though she were speaking to the hat; at the same time, as he looked to Draco, Harry then felt a strong surge of hope that she would end up in Gryffindor so he won't have to worry about belittling her.

Finally the hat had made its choice known "Gryffindor!" Harry smirked inwardly.

"Greengrass, Daphne!" when the name was called, Harry and the other girls gave her a nod as she walked towards the stool.

"Slytherin!" was the exclamation that soon followed her putting the hat on.

Then he turned back to the Sorting.

It was Longbottom Neville's turn the round-faced boy almost fell up the steps as he placed the hat on his head. Harry had encountered the boy a few times in his home.

"Gryffindor!" Harry sighed; obviously the hat thought the boy had some potential.

"MacMillan, Ernie!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Malfoy, Draco!" Draco nodded at Harry then walked forward with grace of a pureblood. The hat had barely touched his head when he was sorted.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted. Harry saw him sit in front of Daphne. He introduced himself to the other students around him. Harry wished the Sorting would go faster.

"Moon, Kevin!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Nott, Theodore!" one of Harry's old acquaintances walked forward and got on the stool. Soon he was also sorted into Slytherin.

"Parkinson, Pansy!"

"Slytherin!"

"Patil, Padma!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Patil, Parvati!"

"Gryffindor!"

It was another example for Harry of how even two people looking alike and born to same parents can be so different.

"Perks, Sally-Anne!"

"Gryffindor!"

And finally it was Harry's turn.

"Potter, Harry!"

As he stepped forward, whispers broke out like hissing fires all over the hall. Harry tuned them out as he sat on the stool and put on the hat. As it dropped over his eyes, he saw people craning to look at him then everything was black. He could feel the hat's magic trying to enter his mind. He let his own magic flow through the hat. He heard the hat asking for permission to enter his mind. But unfortunately it was spoken aloud. Then again it didn't really matter. For what he had planned for after his sorting, things would change for everyone.

Harry spoke to the hat "put me in Slytherin."

"I should put you in Gryffindor for this alone Mr. Potter" the hat spoke to him aloud.

"As you can guess by my proficiency in magic, I assure you that there will be nothing left of that house, if I am there. Know this hat, I am an heir of your founders, and you need to help me out as you can, that was also a purpose of your creation was it not?" harry asked.

The hat was silent for a while. But it sighed at last as it couldn't fight the magic that tied it to help the founder's heirs as long as it wasn't against other heir. "Indeed." It said in a low voice. Then it said "Then there is only one place I can put you in, hope you do well there," and the hat shouted "Slytherin!"

There was deathly silence in the great hall even his acquaintances were confused at what had happened. He removed the hat and put it back on the stool. He could see most Slytherins looked at him in confusion and wariness and some in outright hatred. But then a crackling noise filled the air. It was coming from right above him. Everyone turned to look at it. Awe and fear were most common reactions. No-one knew what was actually happening. All professors rose from their seats and raised their wands uncertainly. Most students were too afraid or too mesmerized by the sight in front of them. Dumbledore though looked calm and had his wand risen as well, there was a slight quiver in his stance showing that he was uncertain as well.

Above Harry's head there was black lightning crackling but somehow it didn't affect anything making it look like an illusion. Slowly the shadows from beneath the tables and those cast by the candlelight started to inch towards the lightning. Some students were outright frightened and shaking. The shadows slowly started to rise in the air leaving behind pure darkness in their places and swirled around him. It looked like they were dancing on some imaginary tune. They slowly started to condense around the black lightning. It was like the shadows themselves were quivering in anticipation of what was going. Wind was blowing around harry. His cloaks fluttered in the air as his hair were floating in the invisible wind. Snape finally getting impatient cast a patronus as to him whatever it was, was something dark. "Severus!" Dumbledore shouted to stop him. But as soon as his silvery dove patronus reached Harry and the swirling shadows it dissipated and Snape reeled back felling really horrible. He started to now Dumbledore's phoenix- Fawkes had appeared on Dumbledore's shoulder. Poppy quickly pushed Snape back in his seat.

The condescending shadows had started to change shape. Two wide wings like protrusions extended out from the main mass. A small slender one rose between them like a head and two shot downwards turning into claws. Slowly everything took a definite shape. For those who had seen a phoenix, the creature in front of them was very similar to it except the fact that it was several times larger. Its wings must have been at least 20 or so feet wide, and its height around 7 feet with its legs around 4 feet each. It was pitch black in color. Its wings were violet at edges and glowing. Its eyes pure black which seemed to suck in the light. Its form started to shrink In front of them. It shrunk to around the size that it looked a little bigger than the normal phoenix. It trilled and circled around harry and then hopped on his shoulder. His trill had made many of the attendants shiver in fright some outright fainted which included Snape. Braiden then looked at Fawkes and trilled a note. After which Fawkes disappeared in a flash of flames. Dumbledore was already shaking. He knows what exactly is in front of him. It is the Braiden. Having a phoenix as a familiar had given him insight to knowledge that would otherwise be almost impossible to obtain. He knew the legends of the Braiden. Its might. He held no delusion that if it wanted to destroy everyone in this room then it could do so with ease. And his familiar leaving now in this position was a bad sign for him. For him now there has just come out a new puzzle, why had it been on young Harry's shoulder? Wasn't he a near squib till now? But for now he had other matters at hand. He could clearly see Harry making his way towards the Slytherin table, Braiden still perched on his shoulder.

Gaining their composure, everyone on the Slytherin table stood and started to clap. They had seen what had happened and if someone could make Dumbledore shake in his own stronghold, then the person was to be respected. Even if it wasn't Harry directly, it was still something he was associated with. And Slytherins were anything but idiots. They would first try to find just what they had witnessed and base their actions on that. He took a seat beside Daphne he winked at her when their eyes. Teachers took their seats and McGonagall gathered her bearings back. Rest of the sorting was eventless compared to anything else. Even Nat received a small clapping from Gryffindor which happened to be done by the Weasleys. Blaize was the last to be sorted and ended up in Slytherin as predicted. Once the sorting was done, Dumbledore rose from his seat and boomed "welcome, welcome back to Hogwarts to those who have comeback for their next year and welcome to your home for next 7 years to those that have come for the first time. Now I would say just one thing, tuck in." and he waved his hands outwards. And right then food started to appear on the plates. Some muggleborns gasped. But most others knew that it was a neat little trick. The house-elves managed the timing of the serving with his gesture. Everyone started to pile food in their plates. Soon chatter started.

People would look in his direction. And avert their eyes if they met his. Some were staring at him like he was some nightmare. All would glance in his and Braiden's direction. Most at the Slytherin table were trying to keep polite conversations. Harry asked Braiden if he would like something, but he declined. During the meal, most of the ghosts of Slytherin had come to greet the first years. But some of the upper years were looking a little confused at them as they were actually led by the bloody Baron. When they came closer, the bloody baron as he was known came forward and bowed in front of Harry and Braiden. "It is an honor to meet you in person messenger of death." He said and left. Once all was done, the food on the plates vanished at once. Then Dumbledore rose from his seat and everyone soon followed. He started to speak, "Now that we all are fed and watered, let's retire for the night. But before that, there are a few warning that I must give." Dumbledore kept his face like the grandfatherly figure that he always postured and continued with a smile "our caretaker says that Zonko's products are banned from the school premises. A list of all the banned products will be listed in your common room's noticeboards. And take note that all students are forbidden from entering the third floor corridor if you wish to avoid a certain painful death. Harry narrowed his eyes at that. If he really didn't want anyone from going there then, he should not have mentioned it in front of first years. Where some nosy brats would have their curiosity try and look at the corridor. Dumbledore kept on going forward, "on a lighter note let's sing the school song." Harry had to tune everything out as he was not going to do something as stupid as that.

The singing had no tune, no lure or magic in it. In truth singing was one of the stronger types of magic. But it was an old tradition and required a dedication and magical prowess that few did possess. Once the song was done Dumbledore asked prefects to lead their respective first years to their common rooms after other upper year students had vacated out. Soon only headboy-headgirl prefects and the first years were left. First years in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were scrambling behind their prefects while that of Slytherin and Ravenclaw formed single lines behind their own prefects. Their prefect came forward and introduced himself. "I am Marcus Flint, your prefect for this year. First years will follow me." He gave a wary glance in Harry's direction. He was a bulky looking boy with a sturdy bone structure and resembled a human troll. Harry mused 'Flints are indeed rumored to have troll blood in them.'

They then followed the prefect and walked towards their new home in the dungeons. After a walk through a number of hallways, they reached a dead end. It was actually the entrance to the Slytherin common room. The prefect spoke the password "basilisk" and the wall shimmered and vanished, revealing a large room filled with ornate decorations and royal furniture. Flint told them to remember the password and not give it to anyone as they entered. It had a fireplace that was lit with emerald fire. There were sofas alongside the walls. And chairs and tables spread in between. The place was filled with primarily green, silver and black. They could see people whispering in small groups. Harry asked Braiden if he was going to stay to which Braiden replied negatively. Braiden gave a flap of his wing which resulted in small lightening sparks coming to life around them. Everyone ceased speaking at once and turned towards him and Braiden who had arisen from his position on Harry's shoulders. He circled ones around Harry trilling and then left. Flint gave them directions for the dorm rooms and told them that they would be sharing a room in two students. He also told them to be up early next day and informed them about Snape and his status as head of house and potions professor and that he would greet them tomorrow, then he left. All the first years huddled closer to the central set of chairs and sofas ones flint had left. They started to take seats. Harry took a seat followed by Daphne, Blaize, and Tracey. Daphne looked at him and raised an eyebrow and said "So?" Harry copied her and replied similarly with "So?"

She sighed and asked "What was it that was with you Harry?"

He could feel everyone looking expectantly at them. He was aware that they were being observed by almost everyone present. He started to tell Daphne about Braiden. "He is the Braiden. A black phoenix if you will. There is only one of his kinds in existence. He has fought battles that we only know through legends. He has slain numerous white phoenixes – those are considered to be royalty among phoenixes and are strongest of the species. He is powerful enough to destroy Hogwarts all by himself in a minute or even less while even if Dumbledore himself tries to stop him with his pet fried chicken. And Braiden is my familiar." Some snickered at the name he had given Fawkes. But then gasped at what he had said next. The upper years soon started to disperse. That's when Draco came back to them. He had been with his friends and listening to Harry. He had come back with Theo. Harry gave both of them a nod. Soon Evanna Rosier and Celeste Churnbell came forward and greeted him as Lord Potter. The first years bar Draco and Theo widened their eyes as realization hit them that Harry was already a Lord! They looked at him with questioning eyes but he waved it off saying that he won't officially be until his thirteenth. Draco said "If I had any prior knowledge of your appearance then I would have secured a compartment for us beforehand Lord Potter." Harry waved it off as well saying that he had fine company as he looked over the three girls that had been with him since the train ride. They chattered a while about their homes and the general stuff. Harry noticed that everyone was starting to feel sleepy and thus said "we should get to sleep as it is getting late in the night. So I bid you all good night." And with that Harry left towards the boys dorms.


	19. 19 first day of classes

**A/N: **hello fellas! I thank u all for the reviews as I have crossed 100 & over 200 have added me to favs. So thanks to u all again! And let's get on with the story! Also I have taken Harry's wingardium leviosa performance from some-one but don't remember where I had read it. It was a long time ago. Please tell me if you know, I will mention it. So on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** same old…. same old….

**19. First day of classes**

Next morning came and Harry was up before anyone, it was 4:45 am. Their windows were charmed so they showed the outside view from under the lake. He had warded his bed appropriately against the prying eyes. Their rooms were very good considering it is a boarding school. He was paired with Draco for a room. Their room has a medium sized bed for each. They also had a study table for each of them. Deciding to get started with his daily rituals, Harry got up from his bed and started his walk towards bathroom. After getting freshened up, he got back to his room as he could see upper year students sleepily walking out of their rooms and getting into the bathroom. He entered his room where Draco was still sleeping. He got changed in his school uniform and walked out and into the common room of the dormitory. Daphne was already there and sitting on a sofa while staring in the flames ahead of her in the fireplace. Harry could see that she was thinking hard on something. He didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking. He got closer to her and sat beside her. He waited for her to respond in some way but she didn't. So he snapped his fingers together making noise and catching her attention. She jerked her head towards him and had her hand go for her wand. But as soon as she saw him she calmed down and gave him a half-hearted glare. He merely smiled at her and said "Already hear Daphne?"

Daphne closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "I…I have been thinking, about last day. All that happened and…and then Malfoy calling you a Lord…I am truly confused."

Harry took her hand in his. He decided to be more truthful. He could feel her stiffen at his touch. "James Potter was deemed unworthy of the Lord title due to his incompetence. Nathan is also not the real heir as many would have liked to believe. I am. It was made sure by our ancestors that the heir gets to know his birthright. I am Lord Potter in magic and by blood. But until I have inherited from my bloodline, I won't be able to control everything concerning the house Potter. Thus it's a less known fact. Not even my family knows of it." Harry had during the explanation swiftly put sound barriers around the both, so no one could listen in on them.

Daphne after a while relaxed her hand that was in his hold. She asked "what side will you be in the coming conflict that we both know will soon come."

Harry smiled at her, he genuinely liked the fact that she could predict the behind the scene things so well. World has been in peace for a long time. And there has been no evidence that anything drastic would happen anytime soon. Neutral families were always in the dark about such things. They were loathed by both dark and light sides. They were untrustworthy. But even after all this she had so easily predicted that a war would happen. She was definitely a worthy person in his opinion.

Harry said "True darkness is born in light, Daphne." Which made it clear to her that Harry was a dark supporter.

She asked "and what are the chances that you WILL win, you have so many enemies, Dumbledore and the Boy-who-lived are just a few of them."

But Harry's smile widened at that. He asked "who declared Nathan Potter the boy-who-lived, Daphne?"

"Dumbledore, but… what does-" harry cut what Daphne was about to say and said "and how much do you believe his words?"

Daphne's mind was in an overdrive. She off-course didn't much trust Dumbledore's word. Does that mean he lied? No he couldn't have. Nat was the biggest chess piece in his game till now. But then…could he have made a mistake? He had made many till now; he was a master manipulator, granted. But he overlooked many finer details sometimes. Lord Voldemort was a proof of that. 'So, if Dumbledore was wrong, and Nat wasn't the one then who?' as the thought drifted through her mind her eyes caught Harry's and in an instant, she knew the truth.

She gasped out"OH my!" and her eyes widened as she removed her hand from his grasp and put it over her mouth. "I – it can't be-"she stuttered as she looked at him. But his smile never left his face, and after yesterday's display and his magical skills at such age were any indication, then it just confirmed to her that indeed she was thinking right. He must be the actual boy-who-lived. She slowly started to compose herself back. Harry got up and lightly gripped her shoulders, he whispered in her ear "the so called light has ruled for too long. Now the darkness won't hold back either." With that he removed the privacy barrier and left the dorms.

Outside he started to explore the castle. He had an idea of a few of the passageways. He found a room full of trophies it contained trophies given to those students that have done good service to the school. One trophy caught his eye in particular. It was on the name of one Tom Marvolo Riddle. He smirked to himself. He was told the story by Voldemort himself. Another room he found contained a number of statues. They were guardians, to be used in the time of need. He found a number of classrooms that were empty and unused. He decided that he could use it to his own advantage. He would use them for private studying purposes. He also found a room full of weapons. These were used for mostly basic training. As these were blunted weapons. Humans mostly used goblin or dwarves made weapons. They were good but nothing compared to what he would one day wield. But it was probably a long time from now. He had to first beat Sofia in a sword fight. And that was where even with his super strength he failed, spectacularly might he add. She was leagues ahead of him. But she had said that he was better than most humans and probably many of the vampires. He got giddy with just the thought of having his swords crafted by the Demons. Indeed, the greater vampires had their swords crafted by the greater demons. Harry once again took a note of the time; it was closer to 7:30 am now. He got back to the dorms in next 10 mins. Almost all the first years had gathered there. Daphne was sitting in the same place but was in company of Blaize and Tracey. Daphne gave him a small smile when she noticed him. Harry returned it while thinking 'hmm she has made her decision then.' And it was obviously on his side.

That was when Snape choose to enter. He walked inside, his cloak bellowing behind him. 'Nice trick' Harry thought. Snape started to speak "You all have been sorted into the house of great Salazar, be proud of it. Now for being in this house most would consider that you are evil or something as dim-witted as that. That is why we always stick together. You'll always be in groups of three or four. We have allies in Ravenclaw, we are mostly on neutral basis with Hufflepuff but they wouldn't trust you enough and most of all, Gryffindor will hate you on principal, they will antagonize you. No this, at the end, we are our own ally. Whatever disputes you may have should remain inside the dorms, for outsiders, we are inseparable, we are one. There are a few rules in this house,

1] Never break any school rules.

2] If you break, then don't get caught.

3] If you get caught, blame someone else, never take the blame.

4] Those that break them will face me over the punishment that they might have gotten from others.

Now another thing is that, I want you all to meet your prefects or me as my doors will be always open for you if you need. This house is where you will stay for 7 years so make yourself comfortable. Your timetables will be delivered to you now by prefects, good day. "

With that Snape left as he had come. Snape had tried to get inside his mind, but harry had blocked him while he himself got inside Snape's mind. He saw the obvious hatred in Snape's eyes for him. Snape loathed anything to do with Potter. And it would be impossible to get his complete loyalty as he knew that Snape had sworn to protect Lily and some additional vows when he had joined Dumbledore.

Once Snape had left, Flint came to them and said "Now, in Slytherin we have a hierarchy, depending on power you are placed in it. We have our own student council. You as first years won't be judged. Remember; always respect your betters, until you prove otherwise." Flint sounded intimidating to some as a few of the first years shrunk back. Harry was going to take the top position. After his little speech, flint started to distribute timetables. Flint sneered at him and handed him his timetable. After that, he left.

It was now getting closer to 9:30 am. They decided to have some breakfast. They took their positions as previous night. They kept the conversation polite during the breakfast like discussing about their timetable. As luck would have it, 'more like Dumbledore would' he thought. They had their first lecture with Gryffindors.

They were taken to the classroom by Ivanna Brut – another prefect, had led them to their first class of the year. It was Transfiguration. During the walk they also got to know that the timetables had been altered a lot. This year, Slytherins and Gryffindors shared most of the classes together. Rest of the times, Ravenclaw was paired with Slytherin and Hufflepuff with Gryffindor. Usually classes were spread evenly.

Once they had reached their classroom, they saw the door open and Ivanna urged them to go in. they entered to see few of the benches occupied by the Gryffindors. They took seats in other column of benches that was not occupied by Gryffindors.

When he looked at the table, he found a cat stiffly sitting on it. He was aware that it was McGonagall as she had come to play with Nat at his home a lot. He took a seat between Daphne and Blaize on the first bench while others took seats behind them. After another five minutes Nat and Weasley came in, panting. Once taking a look at the front, Weasley said "thank god McGonagall is not here." When Nat looked up, his eyes widened when he saw the cat sitting on the table.

At that instant, McGonagall jumped from atop the table and transformed into her human form and in a show of grace, she walked to them directly without poising to collect her bearing after transformation. "I expected you to be on time Mr. Potter, after all these halls are nothing new to you." She scolded Nat. Then she turned to Ron and said "I don't like tardiness Mr. Weasley, be on time from next time onwards or you will get detention." Then back to Nat and said "Same for you Mr. Potter." With that she instructed them to take seats.

Once they had taken seats, she took roll calls. She once glanced at him while taking on his name. Then she started to instruct them. "Transfiguration is the most difficult branch of magic. Even the slightest mistakes can be devastating thus you won't be taking your wands out until I say otherwise." She said while transfiguring her desk into a pig and back, making the muggleborns gasp and catching everyone's attention. She continued "you won't be doing this kind of magic until you have better grasp of your magic and are skilled enough." Harry remembered how Voldemort had explained it to him. He had said "It's all about intent – if you want it to change shape, will – pushing your desire to change the shape into you magic and forcing it into the object, imagination – imagining it changing shape and power – putting enough magic in the object that it'll transform completely." It was far easier to understand that. After her lecture McGonagall told them the spell which was 'trego'. She told them that there were no wand movements. She them levitated a match stick in front of everyone and dropped them on their desks and asked them to convert them into needles. Then she sat on her chair behind her table.

Most of the Slytherins waited a while as they looked around in amusement as other students started to shout the spell at their match stick and get no results. After another ten minutes McGonagall rose from her seat and started to look through the work of the students. She corrected a few here and there. When she got where Nat was, she saw him speaking with Ron. She cleared her throat to get their attention and once they looked at her she asked them to convert their match stick into needle. Everyone turned to look at Nat as he smirked and waved his wand and the stick slowly lost its form, turned thin and took shape of a needle, and then it took a silvery shin and was finally an acceptable needle. McGonagall nodded and awarded him ten points for doing it on first try. After that harry turned to his fellow students and gave them a nod. Together they all waved their wands and their match sticks rapidly turned into silver needles except Harry's which was golden. When McGonagall looked at their desks, her eyes widened marginally. Then she awarded them with total 15 points. It was a bit unfair that Nat got 10 points alone while they got 15 points in total but they knew better than to speak about it. Harry could see Nat fuming inside and glaring at them. Harry just smirked. Then he saw Granger glaring at them all in envy. She had yet to go beyond the silvery shin. Harry just lifted an eyebrow and looked back at his desk. Once the bell rang signaling the end of the class, McGonagall gave a five feet essay to those who hadn't managed an acceptable needle.

After that they were again escorted by Ivanna to their next class of the day, Charms. Sitting arrangement was similar to that in McGonagall's classes but was in a half circular form. Filius Flitwick was an energetic half-goblin and a well renowned duelist. He stood on his chair. He then took roll calls. Flitwick threw a glance at him at his roll call and squeaked at Nat's name and fell off of his chair. Harry only raised his eyebrow. After that Flitwick taught them the spell 'wingardium leviosa'. He made them utter the spell 30 times and then taught the wand motion and made it repeat 30 times. After that they were told to perform the spell. They were given a feather each to practice on. Most off the students started to utter spells. Nat did it on his first try. Flitwick awarded him 5 points and praised him while comparing him to his mother. Then Nat tried to help Finnegan who eventually managed the spell but the results were off as instead of rising from the desk the feather burst into flames. Everyone laughed at his expense as he and desk were soaked with water when Flitwick hurriedly tried to stop the flames with a overpowered water charm.

After a while, Ron started to mutter "stupid feather doesn't rise up." Granger who was sitting next to him tried to correct him saying "Its levi'osa not le'viosa" Ron snapped at her and said "if you know, then do it yourself!" Granger just huffed and did the spell. Her feather slowly rose in the air and hovered there a foot or so in the air. She looked at others as they saw her succeed and she smiled to herself. Flitwick awarded her 5 points. She looked at all the Slytherins and smirked. Harry then raised his hand to stop others from doing the spell as they had seen Granger smirk and wanted to wipe it off of her face. They looked at him questioningly. He raised his wand and started to move it in a complicated manner. Slowly feathers from every desk started to rise and hovered near the ceiling in the air. Everyone had stopped doing their spell as they watched what was happening. They spotted him doing the spell. Harry slowly started to twitch his wand and the feathers started to spin in different directions. Slowly they started to move completely independent of others. Then they all started to revolve around a feather that was twitching between the others. One by one they started to gather at the center. Finally it was a spherical shape spinning at the center of the ceiling. It slowly lowered itself over Flitwick who had been watching the show, mesmerized that a first year was capable of such a feat. The sphere slowly dropped on his head and bounced back and like a blast, all the feathers were blown in all directions. Flitwick gave him 32 points for such a display of skill and exceptional use of the spell. And with that the bell rang, signaling end of the period. He glanced at Nat, and knew that Nat was furious.

They were waiting at the corner for Brut to be led to the great hall for lunch when the most unwanted Gryffindors turned around the corner led by Nat. They stood a few feet away from the group of Slytherin. Both Harry and Nat took a step forward coming closer to each other. Harry gave off a small smirk, infuriating Nat even further.

Nat opened his mouth to speak "Do you think you are so great Harry? Trying to show off, huh? Don't forget that you were a squib just days ago! I am the boy – who – lived! You are a slimy Slytherin but since you are my br-" but whatever he had to say was cut off as no sound came out of his mouth. Others started to laugh at him. When he realized what had happened, he and his followers started to go for their wands. All the Slytherins took theirs out as fast as Nat or just slower, others were fumbling while taking out theirs.

Before they could do anything however, Harry merely chuckled at them and said "don't bother little kids. You don't know any spell to hurt; those wands in hands of someone like you are just wooden sticks. While those behind me are as you put it 'dark' and can hurt you and you Nat don't know silent casting." Nat was getting red in the face. Weasley looked at Nat and tried to use physical force and rushed at him, his fist raised. But unfortunately Harry was beaten in putting the traitor in his place. A curse had flown past him. He could see the almost transparent shape of the spell sizzling in the air, hissing like a snake. It collided with Weasley and the idiot was knocked back and hit his head on the floor. Finnegan let out a shriek and rushed to Weasley. He steadied him. Weasley was clutching his head as Nat also reached him.

Finnegan shouted 'why you slimy snake, fight like a man if you can!" harry tsked and said "Poor little Seamus you are not quite the man, we know that and for that matter, we are wizards and witches not some stupid muggles, it is not our mistake that you are pathetic… but to satisfy you lets clear it here and now." Some of the Slytherins were nervous bar Crabe and Goyle who stepped forward. But harry halted them with a single motion of his hand. "No-No it's all right." He said. Finding this to be an opportunity, Finnegan launched himself at harry with a roar. Harry lazily stepped aside and pressed two points on Seamus's shoulders. Finnegan lost all the feeling in his both hands. He cried out more in surprise than pain that those jabs gave him. He tried to move his shoulders but they didn't respond. Everyone was in shock. Then Finnegan again charged, head ahead like a bull. This time harry lowered himself a bit and swiped Finnegan's feet from underneath him. Finnegan dropped face first on the floor and groaned. Harry merely yawned as Nat helped Finnegan back to his feet. Weasley spoke horrified and took out his wand "what –" but was cut off by a voice from behind.

"What is going on here?" the person was none other than Brut. He saw the wand in the hands of Gryffindors and said "20 points from Gryffindor for attacking a fellow student." Harry quickly undid the 'silencio' on Nat's mouth.

Nat exploded "What! But they attacked first! Look at what happened to Seamus and Ron!" Brut merely took another 3 points from him and said "another 3 points for lying, clearly as only Mr. Weasley and the rest of the Gryffindors have the wands out, they must have attacked along with you." Nat's eyes widened but he kept his mouth shut not wanting to lose any more points. He turned to Harry and said "oh Harry, our parents are sending a gift for you, wait for It." with a smirk.

They then had lunch where they kept light conversation. Harry knew that the news of him beating Finnegan, Weasley and Nat had reached most of the students by now. That after all was today's hot topic on most of the tables. After lunch, they had history with Hufflepuffs. But what happened in the lecture was the worst thing. They were taught by a ghost. Ghosts were supposed to be very knowledgeable. But the only thing they learned was goblin rebellions. The ghost was of Cuthbert Binns. The man had once woken up from his sleep and didn't even realize that for a while. He had a very bad teaching method. He just droned out everything from the books. Harry didn't think coming to Hogwarts would be so disappointing.

Rest of the day passed uneventfully in the dorms. He would receive glances from people every once in a while. He helped his fellow Slytherins in their work. He knew that most of the students had sent letters back to their parents detailing about last day's happenings. He also had a suspicion that Dumbledore may try something today. At dinner time while everyone was eating peacefully, an owl came through one of the high windows of the castle. It flew over the other table and swooped down towards him. It shot out its leg at him. Harry easily recognized as one of the Potter owls. He untied the letter. The letter dropped on the table. As soon as it was relieved of its burden, the owl again took flight and left. When harry saw the reddish glow surrounding the letter, he immediately understood that it was a howler from either Lily or James. He knew that almost all the activity had stopped in the great hall and everyone was watching what would happen. Most of the upper years had also noticed the twitching of the letter, making it out to be a howler. Harry slowly reached the letter, his hand glowed green for the briefest moment when it touched the letter. Immediately the letter stopped its twitching. Harry calmly opened it. Everyone who had seen the twitching of the letter looked confused as they had expected shouting voices to be heard. But nothing like that happened. Harry with the same calm opened the letter and read it.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! HOW DARE YOU GET SORTED IN THAT HOUSE OF SNAKES! NO ONE IN OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN A SNAKE, EVER! IT SHOWS THAT YOU ARE A FILTHY DARK WIZARD! NOW I WANT YOU TO ASK HEADMASTER NICELY FOR A RESORTING. I AM SURE THAT THE HEADMASTER WILL AGREE! IF YOU DON'T GET SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR THEN YOU WILL BE GROUNDED IN YOUR ROOM FOR ALL OF THE HOLIDAYS. DO YOU KNOW HOW SHAMEFUL IT IS THAT ONE OF MY SONS IS IN THE HOUSE OF THE ONE WHO TRIED TO KILL MY OTHER SON! You have disgraced our family by being sorted in that house. I would have hoped that you would be sorted into Gryffindor and help out your brother. BUT NO! You have to get sorted-" Harry didn't bother to read anymore. As he gently folded the letter and put it back in his right sleeve pocket. He again picked up his fork and continued to eat as nothing had happened. Everyone especially Nat was wondering what had happened. He had expected for Harry to get a howler. Slowly everyone got back to their food. Small whispers broke among the most upper years. Only a few of the teachers who had seen Harry's hand glow green for the briefest moment had any idea of what may have happened.

Once food was over, Dumbledore rose from his seat and started to walk down the raised platform and towards the Slytherin table, specifically, towards him. Harry was standing along the other students. When Dumbledore came a hands distance away from him, he stopped. Dumbledore gave him his famous grandfatherly smile and said "Harry, my boy…" but whatever Dumbledore had to say was cut off by harry as he said "Please headmaster Dumbledore.. Sir. I do not think, I am as well acquainted to you as most of my biological family is. Thus I would request you to refrain from calling me as that." His tone though was polite; it was cold and suggested that it was more of a demand than a request.

Dumbledore looked stunned for the barest moment, but he recovered very fast for most to notice. He was definitely surprised as no one has ever cut off while he spoke. After gathering his wits, Dumbledore again smiled and said "Forgive me.. Mr. Potter, I would like to speak with you about the happenings of the last night. Would you like to tell us about it?" Now that was a bit unexpected. He had thought that Dumbledore would directly try and ban him from having Braiden. But to his surprise, it was not that, yet.

"Of – course sir, but I'd rather speak of it here rather than everyone asking me about it over and over."

Dumbledore immediately replied "that would be all right Mr. Potter."

"Well sir, yesterday you witnessed my familiar. From what I could gather, it's been a few millennia since he was last seen. Everyone here should be honored that you had more than a glimpse of it." He said the last part while sweeping his gaze over all the students.

He continued "He is Braiden, one of its kinds. Although he looks like a phoenix, please don't mistake him for one. There is a huge difference in them. You can say that they are sworn enemies of each other. Beyond that I cannot tell you much else, professor."

Dumbledore was quick to argue "But Mr. Potter, Phoenixes are lightest of creatures; if this Braiden is their sworn enemy then he is dark. You shouldn't be with him, Mr. Potter."

Harry smiled, now he knew where Dumbledore was getting at. He said "Do tell me professor, if 10 or so people are fighting against 1, which side would you choose?"

Dumbledore wasn't getting where the question was going at but answered anyway "well I'd choose to help the lone fighter."

Harry smirked a little "Then let me tell you Headmaster Dumbledore that I am on the side of the lone figure. He has been alone in this world since he was created. He has fought the war where the whole of Phoenixes were against him. Then do tell me professor, who is good, who is bad? Dark or Light? Even if he may today hate Phoenixes, is this his doing? We should always remember professor, Darkness is born in the wakes of light… Everyone has darkness…. If that will be all?"

"O-Of- course Mr. Potter, you are all dismissed." Dumbledore said while sweeping his hands over all the students. With that dismissal, harry left for the dorms. He swept his gaze over all the children in the hall. He could see that the seeds of doubt have been planted in their minds. Slowly other students started to leave as well, thinking over his words…..


	20. 20 strong hold

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it.

**A/N: **well...i must apologize the first thing, it has been a very very very long time... so I am really sorry. I really appreciate all of my readers and thank you all! I know that you all expect regular updates like before, but I am not in the proper position to do it, but I will try to do once in a month. As there are my two other stories running that are taking a lot of my time. If any of you are interested in either pokemon or Naruto; then pls read and review.

**Chapter 20: Strong Hold**

While Harry was settling in Hogwarts, potter house hold had fallen silent. Little Caly had taken to living in Harry's room. When they had gotten back from King's Cross station, she had hugged Sofi's neck and started to cry again.

"It's all right Caly, don't worry. I am here am I not?" Sofi tried to console the little girl. She kept murmuring soothing words until Caly had calmed down.

"Do you know, what your brother would want you to do?" Sofi asked gently.

"no" Caly replied in a timid voice.

Sofi gently took caly's chin in her hand and gently raised it so that their eyes would meet. She gave her a small smile and said "He would want you to grow; grow in mind, body, magic and soul. Learn all that you can. Do you understand now?"

Caly slowly nodded "ye-yes. I do."

"good" Sofi said with a smile.

"But who will teach me? Will you teach me? You are my only friend except rosy and she doesn't know how to do magic." Caly asked. A hopeful look on her face.

"Of – course my dear. After all, Harry did put your responsibility on me, or did you forget that?" Sofi asked her with an amused smile.

"oh yes, he did didn't he?" Caly mumbled with a small smile. "I promise you that I will make you proud of me brother." she added after a while.

"You will, and I will help you to achieve your goal." Sofi said with a big smile on her face and started to tickle Caly as she said "but that doesn't mean we can't have fun!" Laughter was soon filled in the room.

On the other end, Lily was having a break down. Both her boys had left for Hogwarts. When she thought of making Caly's favorite food, she realized that she didn't know what Caly really liked. When she thought of Harry, she realized that she didn't know what he liked either. And as a boulder had struck her, she fell on her knees and held her hand over her mouth and let out a muffled gasp. She just now understood why harry didn't even say good bye to them. She slowly started to let out sobs, as she reminisced about the past. She understood the extent of neglect both her and James had forced on Harry and Calypso (yes, she had excepted that Caly wouldn't ever answer to any other name but Calypso from her and James), Harry more so than Calypso. Harry had faced the worst of it. She didn't even remember getting him a birthday present all these times. She didn't know much of his life at all. Only that she saw him every once in a while in passing inside Potter manor. She never even noticed him! First worry for what Dumbledore had told them then the fame that came with nat's parents had filled her head to an extent that she had literally forgotten about her other son! Her eyes were getting redder by the constant crying. They had dried out a while ago. She didn't know, how long it had been since she had been crying. She didn't care either. The only thought in her mind was how disgraceful a mother she was.

"Honey, where are you?" she heard a voice, but she didn't reply.

"Lily, LILY are you ok!" she heard frantic footsteps approach her. She still didn't move.

The owner of the voice, James, looked at the mess that was in front of him. Lily was a mess, indeed. "I didn't know that Nat leaving for school would cause her such trauma!" he thought. Frantically he tried to come up with a solution. After her staying unresponsive for another five minutes, he finally used a levitation charm on her and moved her into her room. He then decided to use another tactic, he slapped her on her right cheek, hard. Lily stumbled a bit after the blow and she gasped as she touched her stinging cheek. She looked around and saw james.

"Ja – James..." she looked at him as she stumbled for words. Her eyes looked like they were brimming with fresh tears.

'At least she has become responsive again.' James thought.

"Oh James... what have we done... James...what have we done..." she said and once more started to cry.

James didn't understand what was actually on her mind 'but its obviously not Nat leaving, so what's bothering her so much?' deciding to voice his query, he asked "Lily..what are you talking about, what have we done that has gotten you so worried."

she looked in his eyes and said "James, w – we neglected our son, we neglected him so much James!"

"what are you speaking of! We did everything that we could for Nat! w-" James was saying but was cut off by Lily who shook her head furiously.

"No – no! Not Nat Ha – Harry! We neglected him James, we even hit him!" she said and looked down in her lap as tears slowly dripped down her nose.

"No – no lily, you are wrong! We didn't. Or did you forget what Dumbledore had said?" James said.

Flashback...

"Lily and James...i do have a grave news and a good news, which would you like to hear first?"

Both Lily and James got nervous. It had been a week since the fall of Lord Voldemort and things had gotten quieter. There were hardly any raids and those that happened were not as well handled as they used to be. Most of the attackers were apprehended in such raids. They didn't understand what could be the bad news now.

"the bad news first, please" Lily said and James gave a simple nod.

"well, the bad news is that...Lord Voldemort is alive." Dumbledore said.

Twin simultaneous shouts of "what" were heard. Fear..it was clearly visible on their faces.

"But – but that is not possible! How can you even be sure professor! We saw his ashes!" lily practically yelled.

Dumbledore sighed and looked at her sadly and shook his head slowly as he rose from his seat and he looked out of the window at the manor. "I am aware what it sounds like, it is crazy; but he somehow managed to cheat death. I have been researching on him. What I found was disturbing. The details are better left unsaid." then he looked back at the two.

"Then.. that monster will again come for my baby. No, this cant be, it can't be!" Lily yelled.

James put a brave front and put an arm around her shoulders and tried to console her. He looked at the headmaster and asked "wha – what can be the good news in such conditions?"

"I believe, the circumstances involving the incident were something he mustn't have known, or even if he had; I doubt, the time between the prophecy and the attack was very small. So having a counter for something of this magnitude is not possible. It would take him many years, maybe even decades. We have time enough to prepare Nat for the final battle between both Voldemort and Nat; for the only thing I fear is, it would come to Nat and Voldemort in the end."

flashback ends...

"So you see, we simply wanted to give Nat all the love that we could. He would need all the support he can. And as now Harry is there with him as well, he can help out Nat." James said. And as easily as that, James took down her feeling of remorse with self – justified reasoning.

Back in Hogwarts...

it was first Saturday and as such, lectures were canceled for today. It was to help students get better acquainted with each other and their house. The day was spent languidly in the dorms. He had felt some hateful gazes on his back; he was aware who it was. Flint was very eager to hex him; he knew. While flint was waiting for the right opportunity to present itself, Harry was waiting for flint to make a move.

After dinner, everyone was once again gathered in the common room of the Slytherin house.

"All the first years, please pay attention" said Rosier as she made a small banging noise in the air with her wand.

Once all of them were paying attention to her, she continued "good. Now last time we were short on time and thus you were not introduced to the current hierarchy. So that would be corrected today. I will begin with the leaders in our house. Usually, the once selected are those taken in consideration to be headboy and headgirl of the house and some times the prefects as well. There are sometimes where exceptions are made, but you will have to prove your worth in a duel against the member holding the position you want. Remember, the duel will prove your power BUT once taken the position, you will have to show just why you are a Slytherin."

she took a pause, and again continued "I will start with the leaders, I Evanna Rosier and Flynn Mulciber are leader and the right hand respectively. So if anything requires my direct attention and I am not available, Flynn is the person you get in touch with. After us, Flint, Brucks, Ashworth and Mongrel are in the positions. That makes the six of us. If there are any scuffles amongst you, you take it to one of the last four I mentioned. If you have a problem with one of the four then you come to us. If you have a problem with Flynn or me...well you take it to the professor. And be warned, unless you have an actual complain and are not just whining about something, don't go to him; It wont be pretty." she finished the last part with a devious smirk.

"So, is any one who would like to challenge any of us?" Flynn asked looking particularly at harry. Harry gave a small smirk and stepped forward. But before he could actually issue the challenge, Flint stepped forward, an ugly sneer marring his face. He tried to look intimidating with showing his bulk yet failed miserably. Harry simply raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Mr. Flint, do you have any objection with me issuing a challenge?"

"Yes, you filthy potters don't deserve to be in the house of Slytherin. I will take you down, myself!" he said.

That was not a good thing to say in Harry's presence. He didn't care about either of the elder potters, but the house Potter in itself was a name that he held with pride. Rosier saw his eyes take a darker shade and begin to glow. As one of the top death-eater children, she was already aware who harry was. She also guessed, he would have come directly after her position, at the top. Flint's family was considered to have descended from trolls and it was looking more and more true. The only reason he hadn't lost his position was because he was decent in magic and was resistant to minor spells. He had proven himself in quidditch as one of the top players of Slytherin. But it would seem, he still indeed lacked the brain necessary for the position. It was apparent from Harry's cold gaze on flint that he wasn't taking kindly to such insults to his name. She sent Brucks to call for Professor Snape for refereeing the duel that was to happen.

"You know Mr. Flint, I thought it was just a rumor that your family was descended from trolls, but I find it more and more truthful than I ever previously thought." Harry said, his voice still controlled and the rage in his eyes gone, replaced by amusement, as he watched as flint's face changed color in different shades of red and purple. Flint would have lunged at him, had it not been Rosier who interfered. "No one attacks until the referee of the match, professor Snape arrives here, is that clear?" her tone was low, sharp and held a dangerous edge to it. She must have taught flint a thing or two as he reluctantly took a step back."

"It seems that you have a talent in handling trolls miss Rosier?" he asked with a wink in her direction. Rosier's own hand twitched at the double meaning of the comment, but she resisted from throwing curses at the boy in front of her. She knew it would do her no good to just attack a foe probably powerful than herself.

Soon enough, Snape came in as he looked utterly furious and livid. 'these Potters, they are not going to let me live my life in any peace at all!' He thought as he looked at the youngest potter brat in front of him. "Mr. Potter, I heard, you are to battle Mr. flint?" he asked dreading the answer. He was aware, flint was aware of flint's reputation as a merciless beater. He overwhelmed his opponents with sheer physical force. He dreaded that he may have to take a student to infirmary in a half dead condition.

Harry said "yes professor, I am."

"Why am I not surprised, Potters are known to be over confident and idiotic." he muttered. It wasn't loud, but enough that everyone heard. Those who had an inkling of Harry's Power grimaced. Snape was bound by the magic of the position that he held. If he himself was to fight over for the authority against Harry's in here, they knew that Snape, as good as he was, would loose. Harry would become the supreme authority in the house and Snape had given him the opportunity to make him fight.

Harry narrowed his eyes, "then perhaps, you would like to see it for yourself by taking me on?" harry had every intention to provoke Snape into attacking him. He wouldn't loose such an opportunity when it presented itself.

Snape narrowed his eyes. He knew, he had the right to ban Harry from ever getting into the council if he won and he was sure that he would win, after all, he had been a death-eater. Even if he hated it, he knew that he was well above most aurors in capability as a dueler. There was no way a first year brat could beat him, whatever advancement he may have made. He accepted with a small smirk. Flint was pushed aside but Harry made it clear that he wanted to fight both of them as they have slighted his name. Everyone was shocked. Challenging flint was daring, challenging Snape was down-right stupid and asking to battle both at the same time was just crazy. Some of the students in his year looked shocked at him, other older students not in the know started to snicker at him. Those in the know just shook their heads. Even they didn't know what would the outcome be...

Rosier came forward in the near middle of the room and cleared the area. A small dueling pit was made. Both Flint and Snape stood by each others side, against him.

"anything goes, the only exception is killing blows. Begin!" said Rosier.

With that the battle began. Snape started off with minor silent curses and hexes. A number of different colored energies shot out of his wand one after another. Harry smirked all the while he didn't even move, simply flicked them with his one finger; a purple glow present on it that changed in intensity with every spell impacted on it. Some of the deflected curses flew at a few of the watching students. They had to duck or move out of the way or get in the crossfire. The younger students watched In awe as they realized that Harry was using wandless magic. Older students were in shock when they noticed it as well. Flint who had decided that his professor would finish it easily and had just stood there was getting nervous by the minute. He knew that Snape was one of the top death-eater fighters. If Snape was having problem then he had no chance of winning. He also had noticed that Harry hadn't moved a single step. Getting in close was not an idea as the deflected curses may be targeted at them. After a while, Snape ceased fire.

He was panting. 'I even tried to read that brats mind but I couldn't! Is it because of his familiar? And he can also call out tha – that familiar, we would loose as soon as it arrives! Ho – how can we have forgotten that!' Snape mentally cursed. Flint had been stupid, but he should have thought out before acting. But there wasn't any backing out now. His whole house was watching.

That was when flint decided to take it to physical. He was better in that combat method. His being able to resist to spell damage was his advantage and he could take out the enemy. Harry let flint get close while he waited out. Snape hadn't attacked as it may turn against Flint. Flint reached Harry and shot out with a cry, he tried to punch harry in face but Harry moved like with the grace of water and bent a little in the waist. As flint had over-reached him, Harry Jabbed his knee in Flints stomach. He had not put much force but his constant physical training had made him really powerful and without even trying, he had thrown flint a few feet back the way he came. As soon as flint was away from him, Snape started his assault again. This time, Harry moved. He avoided the curses like he just phased by them, it was always by a hair's breadth away. He seemingly flowed from one position to another. He easily reached Snape and without giving Snape a chance to blink he lunched the man in gut and spun behind and sent a kick out. It connected with flint's ribcage and he coughed up blood and dropped to his knees. Snape also had coughed up blood on the floor and was clutching his stomach. Both had dropped their wands on the floor.

"What happened, I thought you were going to show me my place, Professor?" Harry spoke in a sarcastic voice.

His demeanor changed and he spoke in a chilling voice "I do not know what scuffles you had with James Potter, BUT I will not have you slander the Potter name, apologize, and I will put it behind us, if you don't, I will take action as the heir of house potter." the tone and the power mixed with the malice behind it was enough to chill Snape to the core. Harry's murderous intent was making itself known. Snape felt so terrified that even the fear of the dark lord seemed to be shadowed. Flint had wet his pants and fallen unconscious.

"I – I... forgive me! I apol – apologize for my sli – slight against your name. Heir Potter." Snape gritted his teeth as he said this. with that Harry was declared a winner and Snape became a figurehead in Slytherin. Although, he held his authority outside of the Slytherins; He would have to bow to Harry now.

"Good. Flynn, make sure that 'our' 'professor' reaches the infirmary. We will all speak tomorrow at 9 am sharp." Harry said and left for his room.

While Snape was being helped by Flynn to the infirmary, Snape thought 'how is this possible? That kid... It is unreal. And to add to insult, he was considered as a squib just a few days ago. Just what happened. Even the great Nathan Potter would not have succeed in doing this! Such humiliation! Everyone – every single person in the Slytherin house was watching. And I was crushed like a bug! This is impossible...unless - ' Snape gasped at the sudden doubt that had crept in his mind.

"You may leave Mr. Flynn, I fill well enough to get there by myself." Snape said to Flynn. Flynn gave a short bow and said "As you wish,Professor."

In the silence left by Flynn's departure, Snape's thoughts again wandered to where they had last stopped 'With the ease Potter had beaten me, he must have had training. If he had training, that mens, he had been hiding the fact that he could do magic for a long time. no – no...this can't be true... Dumbledore... he couldn't have made such a grave mistake. The boy is a fanatic of old beliefs if the way he defended his name is anything to go by. If my doubts come true, then... we are all doomed. Fated to fail by putting our hopes in a pretender of a savior.' Snape's thoughts had taken a down turn since the fight. He had changed his way from infirmary to headmasters office. He couldn't tell the headmaster about the fight; but he could voice his opinion...

When Harry had disappeared behind the stairs, the whole room had exploded in a frenzy. The whole atmosphere had changed in an instant. Where it had been a cold and deathly silent just moments before, it had suddenly become filled with loud chattering noises and some protests of outrage.

It included a small circle of friends that sat on a sofa. They were like any other first years in Slytherin, except the fact that they were seen as closest to Harry until now. That was why not one of the older years had dared to make them leave the place as they had done with others. After the casual display of power that Harry had just displayed, they didn't want to draw his ire on them. It was possible that he may call his familiar to simply destroy them all.

This same circle of children, just like others was discussing what exactly had transpired a while ago. Harry Potter, their new acquaintance and maybe friend was now the supreme authority of their house. Even the head of the house, Professor Snape a well known duelist in the said circle had lost to him. No, not lost... he had been crushed. Harry had made a impression on everyone. The ease and confidence that he had should and the apparent victory pulled, know one in their right minds would want to challenge his authority anymore.

Blaize Zabini, Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass; the three that were being seen as next to royalty right now, were overwhelmed. Just having sat and spoken with Harry had given them such influence over the general populace in the Slytherin that it was astounding. A week, it hadn't even been a week in Hogwarts for them, and yet... Just the newest person they met had given them so much without even asking.

All of them had been just staring at each other for past 20 or so minutes. None knew what to say. The mysteries surrounding him had just gotten a notch up. Finally Daphne looked at the other two. "What..do you think?" she asked.

Both Blaize and Tracey looked at her with a blank look.

"What do you expect? Did you see him, he... he didn't just pull a win. No... he crushed Snape. Did you know that Snape is one of the top duelists in the country?" Tracey asked.

Both others just nodded. They wanted their thoughts put out. Having them stuffed inside their heads would gain them nothing. By putting it together, they could at least get a good idea of just what was happening.

She continued "Y – you know... when we first met, at the time of the argument, when I indirectly insulted him... I had seen his eyes glow then. I felt terrified. But it lasted only for a second. And I forgot about that. But now, now I believe it was right of me to be terrified."

both others looked in at her in shock. They hadn't felt anything. They had thought that Tracey had shut up because her doubts on the matter had been cleared. But now...

all three of them subconsciously gulped. "Whatever happens... I am going to take his side. I have already decided. He has shown that he believes in our values. Although it has to be seen, just how much." Daphne stated. She had already made up her mind on the matter. Today just proved that her confidence was in the right place. He took retribution for the slight against his name – his Blood. If she were to Ally with him, her family would have his protection. And protection from him would mean a lot for them. Neutral families had been shunned by light for a long time. Being labeled as dark, untrustworthy and such is something that no-one likes. She had grown up in the political world and had seen how many times dark forces had been sent to recruit them. But not once had there been anything but pure wish for them to join in on their own. It had been always someone sent to request. The only reason why they hadn't taken a side was to keep their neutrality. They wanted to wait till they could make sure that they were joining when the win was assured. But now, with Harry's involvement, and her being linked to him, by co-incident or intentional, it didn't matter, her choice had been made. It looked like the winning side would be Harry's. She would let her friends come to terms with it and make their own choices.

By the time night rolled out, most of the students had gone back and called for an early end of the day. Harry himself on the other hand had a good idea of what ruckus he must have caused. He expected Snape to make his way out of the Oaths the position bound him with. He had placed a tracker bug on Snape. It was a small bug that he would later transfigure into a snake and then question about the details.

Morning was getting closer. Everyone was wide awake by 7 in the morning. Neither the first nor the upper years knew what to expect anymore. So they stayed silently or speaking In hushed tones in some cases as they awaited the meeting...


	21. 21 A Story

**Disclaimer: **I don't own this.

**A/N:** well I forgot to mention something to you guys... I have reached 100,000+ hits and over 150+ reviews, so 'THANK YOU' to you all readers and please keep giving me your support.

For those who suggested me to have a beta, really sorry. Can't do that. I get so less time on a PC with a net, I have to use it for mostly other things and uploading. My mobile net is too slow to be of any use in keeping contact with a beta. But I think I will do the re-editing of these chapters when I reach chapter 30. (hopefully I will have a constant source for a PC with net by then...)

Now I had some-one say that I have made Harry to be too cocky. Well... if someone insults your family and you know that you can beat the shit out of that someone, then will you not warn them before beating them up or just beat them up? I sure will! Lets not forget, even Voldemort and the most other mages are not in his league. Now please don't say that I am making him too powerful. Because, at times he WILL struggle with things. I hope this chapter shades some light on just how tough his life is going to get. Now before I start blowing the whole plot, lets begin with the story!

(sorry for the first and hopefully last long A/N)

**21. A Story**

By 8:40 in the morning, all the students in Slytherin house were already present in their common room; all awaiting the arrival of the lone first year student to that was absent. When Harry entered at the stroke of 9 am, he saw Flynn and Evanna stood at the head of the gathering as he stepped down the stairs. He gave a small nod at them and stood at lest a few feet away from them.

"You assembled them?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow at the two in front.

"Most were already here, we brought the few stray that were still sleeping." came the reply from Evanna. Her voice smooth and silky, neutral yet polite. He nodded.

"Good. Well, lets start with a few rules, shall we?" Harry asked the two. They tensed for a second and relaxed. Both gave a small nod.

"1. things will be run the way they had been run till now.-" at this most of the older boys relaxed. "2. Mr. Flint will be removed from the position and wont enter back at any position until I say.-" here flints face took a horrific look, yet he had seen that coming after yesterday's event. Before he could think any more, harry continued "he will get the position back when I think he is ready. I don't want the foolishness of yesterday to happen again. When I think that Mr. Flint has enough control over his tongue, I will let him have his position back." while he said this, Harry had been looking intensely at Flint. Flint gulped once and gave a shaky nod. "3. if you think that Professor has made any decision wrong, come to me. But don't come with something like he laughed at me! or he tricked me! This is the house of cunning, not fools. Thats all." with that he started to move out of the common room for some food and was followed by Blaize, Tracey and Daphne.

"How does it feel to be at the top of the food chain, Harry?" Daphne asked.

"not bad." he admitted.

"but I would have loved to have some fresh air, maybe a walk around the grounds or a ride on a broom." he added.

The three girls asked him questions in general and he absentmindedly answered them. Once they were at the table, he took the front seat of the leader of the house. Although, in appearance, Snape still outranked him, but if Snape wanted his authority back, Snape would have to prove to be more cunning or strong or both compared to him. Soon they were served breakfast. They ate lightly.

The day was spent in learning about each other. Harry had to learn about all the prefects and their expertise. Polite discussions and small talks were the norm in Slytherin Common room. Harry had decided to let the prefects know of the small advantage that Nat held over them. He told them about the Marauder's map.

"Nathan Potter has a way to get inside our common room." he said.

This earned him a round of exclamations of denial.

"That isn't possible."

"How can you say that." and such exclamations were herd. Finally Harry raised his hand and immediately the complaints started to drop until no-one was complaining.

"James Potter and his friends created a map when they were in Hogwarts. They have mapped all the areas of the castle they know. It can find anyone if the person is anywhere in the places mentioned on the map. Slytherin common room is included in that map." he said.

Everyone was shocked to know that their common room had been breached before and could be breached again.

"Then what do we do?" Flynn asked.

"Why we disable the ties the map has with the castle." Harry said.

"Lets do it then! What are we waiting for?" Bruck exclaimed.

" That is the tricky part. You see, to do that we need to breach protections of the ward-stone but that would alert Dumbledore as he is the headmaster of the school and currently the one who holds the wards together." he added.

"But then – then how did James Potter and his friends manage to do the feat?" Evanna asked.

"they didn't, Dumbledore knew the moment the wards were breached. He allowed them to do it." A shocked look crossed over all the prefects and Flynn and Evanna.

"This is outrageous!" Flynn practically hissed out.

"How can he allow that. Houses are made so all students from different houses could keep or share their own knowledge with those of similar beliefs!" Evanna said as she abruptly stood up, knocking down the chair that she was sitting on.

" Indeed, this is against the school code, we are supposed to have privacy, yet our headmaster is letting our privacy be invaded. There is one solution however." he said.

"what would that be?" one of the prefects asked.

"I can break the connection of the map from the wards." he said.

"Then please do so. No one here wants some arrogant Gryffindors to come snooping in here. Although, I would have applauded had it been their personal achievement. Making the map of that caliber is an impressive feat of magic." Evanna said after calming from her outburst.

Harry had smirked at that and said. "indeed, it is a great feat. I am glad that you appreciate their spell work, so do I, credit should be given where it is deserved."

"but how will you do it?" she asked.

"Well, as I am the heir of Gryffindor, I can take charge of the wards in the castle." he said with his smirk widening.

All others looked at him in shock. Some had blank looks. It was rare to find a heir of one of the founders. Helga Hufflepuff had any real love interests so to speak. Her legacy died with the death of her apprentice who was killed. She herself died due to a rare disease that had no cure back then. The exact details were shady. Then there was Rowena Ravenclaw. It is said that she was in love with Salazar Slytherin. They had a son together. After her untimely death, Salazar had married another witch, with whom he had a son and a daughter. The eldest line had since died out. Soon the other line as well dwindled. The last known holder of the title Lord Slytherin is Voldemort himself. Then there is house Gryffindor. Godric had one daughter from his wife. She had married a descendant of house Potter. Due to some kind of curse on the house Gryffindor to have only one heir every generation; Potters have always had a single child since then. Except now. As Nat was the most probable candidate considered since he was the supposed golden boy of Gryffindor.

So it was well within their rights to be surprised to see that it is Harry who would be the next lord Gryffindor.

"Just one question Lord Potter, just how old is the potter bloodline?" Evanna asked in curiosity. While referring to him as a lord.

"hmm, that would be a question worth million G, wouldn't it?... all I will say is that my true ancestry would be older than all our Founders houses combined."

others watched at him in awe. Such old and potent blood ran through him. Even the dilution in coming few generations wont weaken it by much.

"the only line that can match mine is the blacks. But unfortunately we know what the apparent heir of the line is doing." he said. Everyone was aware who he was speaking of. Sirius Black was an outcast from the pureblood factions. It was such a shame on those ancestors that had made House black what it is.

Although Harry had intentionally led them to believe that Sirius was the heir, he planned to reveal his all Lordships as the time came. 'It would be fun to see their faces every time to say it now anyway' he mused.

"I will do the deed in three days. Be sure to make some noise in School that would take the attention of the teachers." with that he left for his room. Everyone immediately understood what he was speaking about.

x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x– x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x– x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x – x

A month had passed since he came to Hogwarts. He was favorite of almost all the teachers. He had made a firm grasp over the students of Slytherin house, be it older or the younger. He had also made his move towards Ravenclaw. They were their tentative alleys. He had made progress with their first year classmate, Padma Patil. She was a foreigner in Britain and didn't know much about the people here. She had herd about the rumors relating to the Slytherin house. Yet, she had tried to find the truth. A trait of a true Ravenclaw.

Flashback...

he was in the library, when he saw her looking over some books concerning history of hogwarts.

"You should try 'Hogwarts' written by Mathalda Andros; a really good book for history over Hogwarts, less biased as well." Harry said, as he looked at Padma.

She had been cross referring through several books detailing on Hogwarts. She had come across several instances where conflicting things were written. It was damn near impossible to get a good book it seemed. That was when she herd a boy's voice telling her to use another book. She turned to look at him and came across the enigmatic and mysterious Harry Potter himself. Everyone was talking about him. Even a month after his introduction to the world, he had been impressing everyone with his knowledge. He was someone you would rather have as an alley than a foe.

"Harry Potter, charmed to meet you." he said as he gave her a small bow.

"Padma Patil, please seat. I was really getting worried with the no. of inconsistencies I have found in our history books." she said with a small smile on her face. She had a darker tan compared to other students and had light brown eyes. She had her hair kept in a single ponytail.

He gave a nod and took a seat beside her. "as I said,if you are actually interested in the history of Hogwarts, buy the book 'Hogwarts' written by Mathalda Andros. It is better than most." he said.

"but, how can you be so sure that it is a better book and not another one biased on some different beliefs?" she asked curiously.

"because I have done what you are doing, trust me it will save you a headache miss Patil." Harry said with a wry chuckle.

"Please call me Padma, Miss Patil seems too formal for my tastes." she said with a giggle.

"then call me Harry. We are of similar stations in our society anyway." he said.

"Really? But I had heard that Potter family was at most a millennia old?" she asked looking really curious.

"well, can you keep a secret?" he asked looking mysterious.

"Off-course, I can." she said looking a bit offended.

"well, House Potter was formerly known as House Morvin for 2 millennium and half." he said.

"So what you are saying is, that you are a descendant of House Morvin?" she asked to clarify what she had heard.

"Indeed." Harry said amusedly.

"Well, that is quite a claim... but I will take your word for it now." she said.

From there on they studied or rather Harry taught her more about British magical history. In turn she told him stories of what wizarding India is like. From that day onwards he had met her on a daily basis. He had brought Daphne, Tracey and Blaize with him for these study sessions of his. Soon they were joined by a few more students from Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Some of them were from upper years. He had seen how they had been watching his small group with interest. The Ravenclaws had been baffled at how easily he explained magical theory, how easily he did magic. Some of the Ravenclaws even asked Just how and why he had been kept secret. Why was he even there as he could easily do the final year spell work on his own. Even his history knowledge was vast. He had simply laughed it up and said that he had wanted to make more friends.

Flashback ends...

It hadn't taken much time for the news to spread of how he was helping other students; not just his classmates but also the upper years. Teachers were shocked and reluctant to even believe, thus they had themselves come to see if it was true. Flitwick, McGonagall and Sprout had come to see the spectacle of him being surrounded by all the first years of Slytherin and Ravenclaw as he explained how to properly do transfiguration. The way he explained had been the easiest for children to understand. They had given better results than they had in classes. Flitwick had been delighted to see this. After that, he had been asked by Sprout to help her Hufflepuffs as well. And as the sweet, obedient student he was, he had agreed. It had been a week ago. He was going to be awarded extra credit for running this small club.

He had seen Nat with the map in hand as he tried to sneakily follow them. But the map didn't work and Nat was caught in less than a minute by Flynn. Flynn had taken out points from Nat for that.

Nat had tried to take fights with him, but unfortunately for Nat, He had support of three fourth of the students. Only Gryffindors were the ones who had not been in the study sessions. He didn't plan on letting them in anyway. He wanted to unite all under him, but due to the vast difference in beliefs, it would only spell trouble. He didn't want to get his reputation of a good boy to be spoiled. He would slowly reveal his powers to all the new 'friends' but he would wait for the right time. He had a whole year to play it out.

Due to his association with other houses and helping them, Gryffindors had started to get isolated. Teachers couldn't do anything as nothing wrong was being done. Through it all, he had kept an eye on Dumbledore. He had connected with the spirit of Hogwarts. Many had wondered that Hogwarts had sentience. It was in fact true. While he had been trying to think of a way to temporarily detach the wards from Dumbledore, he had felt a light brush against his mind barriers. He had then witnessed the spirit of Hogwarts. It had taken form of Rowena. He could sense a presence from it. Thus meaning that it held some form of life. From what he could understand, it was tied to Hogwarts; if Hogwarts were to fall, it would die in essence. It was manifestation of all the magic it had collected through the students living here. Its sentience was given form by the founders themselves. The same spirit had kept Dumbledore off his back and also removed the trackers in the wards.

Due to the isolation of the house, Gryffindors had started to get moody. Some of them had tried to befriend the students from other houses, it also worked for a time, but when the topic came to houses, they would get back to their obnoxious ways and it would end the tentative relations they had built.

Although some of the upper year Gryffindors had taken an interest in him and thus had been more open towards the Slytherin. Katie Bell and Parvati Patil had been the once to come to them on their own. he looked in his watch, it was close to 11 pm, he decided that it was the right time to check on things back with Caly and Sofi. He called for Braiden. In next second, Braiden rose in a swirl from his shadow.

"It had been a while, why did you summon me young one?" Braiden said. Harry gave a small smile and nodded once.

"Yes, it has. I have settled in well within Hogwarts. I wanted to go and meet with Caly and Sofi...but since Lord Slytherin had placed wards concerning vailing and you can still do it, I hope you will take me to them." Harry said.

"Of – course, I will. And you can do the vailing too as the wards concerning it were ripped when I came." he heard Braiden's amused voice in his head.

"oh...well, then you can go back to whatever you were doing..or you can come and meet with them." Harry said.

"hmm, I think I will come, after all, I must get to know your mate." Braiden said. With that he jumped on Harry's shoulder and they vanished.

"when they appeared. They were back in Harry's room. Sofi and Caly were both asleep on his bed. Caly was snuggled tightly in Sofi's chest. There was a serene expression on both their faces. Sofi had a soft smile on her lips. Her chin resting on Caly's head and an arm draped over Caly's waist. His eyes unknowingly wandered over her body and then back. He tucked a strand of her hair back behind her ear.

'This...this is what I have to live for...this is what I have to win all the coming conflicts for. To preserve the innocence of my sister and keep her and Sofi from any harm that may ever come their way.' he thought.

Sofi had woken up at the exact moment that Harry's fingers had brushed against her ear. She didn't show it as she felt no threat whatsoever.

"You are awake, sorry that I woke you up." Harry said.

Once she had heard the voice, she immediately opened her eyes and looked in Harry's green ones. She let a radiant smile grace her lips as she took him in with her eyes. "Harry, you are here. I didn't expect you to be here so soon." he just smiled at her. Then her eyes landed on Braiden. She gasped and her eyes widened. She gave a bow and said "I never expected to see you messenger of death."

"now, how could I not come and see my bonded partners mate?" she heard the amused voice of Braiden.

"So the rumors are true. You do have bonded with him, eh Harry. Yet again you amaze me." Sofi said while shaking her head at him but the smile on her face never left.

"I wanted him to meet booth you and Caly." Harry said.

"I must comment, your choice is well. I will leave you now as the youngling is still asleep and we can meet some other time, no need to break her beauty sleep." Braiden said as he vanished.

"This is an honor Harry, consider yourself lucky." Sofi told him.

"You seem to know a lot about him, do tell me a bit. I didn't really have much time to actually bond with him." Harry said.

"Why sure then, let me tell you a story, a story of legends...

Many eons ago; our planet was nothing but a molten mass of gases. The universe itself was a field to the beings of the legends." Harry was hanging on her every word. Looking at every little movement she made with her hands. She continued "These were not the legends known to us as fae or Angels or even demons...these were the ones of power beyond what we could ever wield. The Fae folk, Angels and Demons are nothing but a form they took on these lands. They are the true gods. Chaos, Order, Destruction, Creation and Balance. It is said that they were created by something even more powerful than them. Abyss or Void as it is also known. These five fought and fought until there was nothing left of the world. They say that Abyss decreed that they wont be fighting each other anymore. Instead they were given a job, job to create the world. Thus the world was formed as it is now. They together created a world.

But it wasn't enough, so they created multiple worlds with different entities. And then they created the infinite multi-verse of every world. But some were unique to certain worlds. These were Fae, angels and Demons. Although one may argue that the Fae and angels didn't leave the original world for most of the time. For obvious reasons as well. This was the world where the gods wanted to make an even playing field. Their sole purpose was to do the bidding of their creators. Then there were the gods that were created for the purpose of life and death and simply named as such. Their power was supposed to be on par with the legends of that we know; fae, angels and demons. They were the commanders of these forces and blessed by their creator gods to have the control of their creations. Chaos had chosen to side with Creation as order sided with destruction. Balance stayed neutral in the coming conflict as he didn't want to disobey the order his father gave and didn't wish to take his ire on him. He is the one that gave seers the power to predict the future. They were born to guide and help these multi-verses survive when the clash of the titans once more happened.

The creation of Fae, angels and demons is still in question. They say that Fae were a creation of efforts of both Order and Chaos combined. Angels were created by Order and Destruction combining efforts while Demons were created by the combined efforts of Chaos and Creation. While Life was created by Order and Destruction, Death was created by Chaos and Creation.

World continued to grow as the life on it grew. A vicious cycle of life and death was created. Both Lord life and death created their own armies to battle. The multi-verses had no concept of time yet dimensions were present as to allow all the infinite possible worlds of a single world to superimpose on a single one yet not destroy it. Then there was also the need for changing the dimensions as they needed to make separate dimensions for all the different worlds. The armies of light and death collided. During these conflicts, one of the species that came to rise was the phoenixes. These were said to be the messengers of life. And the opposing force that rose was Braiden. Against the might of numerous white phoenixes, only one Braiden was ever created. He did remarkably well. From there on he was known as the bringer of death or messenger of death. For where he went, utter destruction of the life followed. During this, balance introduced the concept of time. That gave rise to many new mortal species, out of which is the human race. Some were given magic, while some weren't. In different worlds, different kinds of magics were introduced. It was all a big ruse to prepare a yet another army on both sides. But...

But in all this, in all this they forgot one crucial thing. They had given sentience to all that they had created. This led to some of the supposed slaves (angels and demons) rebelling. They had started to think for themselves. This is what caused angels to fall from their grace. They lost the favor of lord life and its creator. Some demons started to fall in love with mortals and sired children. Just like Angels. Yet there were differences. While the children of demons lived happily as as their creator didn't abandon them, instead found it an opportunity. After all, birth of something completely unknown is just a part of what Chaos desires and what it is; but the ones sired by Angels, they were slain...

Soon then, the higher powers were moved into other dimensions. They left behind High Elves that liked peace and Vampires who liked to live in seclusion. The only time Vampires came out is when they feel the need to feed. Soon fae who had been causing havoc anywhere they desired and helping out someone on whim, had stopped doing what they always did. They to were forced to live the main dimension. Since Fae, Angels and Demons were born before even the time, they each held power over the miracles. These miracles were, time and space. Fae were the only once who could use both while Angels and demons could only use space...

the separation of the greatest powers caused a major change in the growth process of the world. The rate of growth grew exponentially. New demigods rose on sides of both Lord death and Lord light. When these rose, some of them were on par with True vampires and Elves. These were considered the biggest of the gods. Major examples would be Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, Bramha, Vishnu, Mahesh etc.

Here starts another tragedy for the mortals and immortals alike. Some of these gods started to do morally despicable things saying it is their will and as they are gods, they shall do as they please." here Harry noticed the sad tone that had entered her voice. He put his hand on Sofi's shoulder and looked into her eyes and urged her to continue. She gave a nod and did so. "some gods started to make other beings give them sacrifices. These often enough turned out to be women. You can just imagine what life those poor souls must have lived. Knowing that they would never receive salvation. Right now, lord Dracula himself is trying to save one of such victims. Although admittedly, she isn't a sacrifice from anyone, she still is a victim. She is none other than Lady Vivian. The one mentioned in the lores of Merlin. She is a descendant of a fallen angle. Yet she is not the direct descendant. She is somewhere near the fifth or sixth generation. This sad story will have the sad end that I believe it will." she said. A sad look crossed her eyes.

"How...do you know so much about all this, especially about the current situation of Vivian?" Harry asked, curious about it.

"when I was young, my father and grand father even Lord Dracula sometimes would tell me stories about the old world. He himself is created by lord death. Lord Dracula himself is battling Poseidon to save Vivian. But Poseidon isn't alone Zeus along with Ares are there as well. Once they win, they would feast on her beauty and finally end her. This all is allowed as lord life wants all descendants of the Angels to be dead at any cost. Their fates before the deaths doesn't matter to him." she said in a small voice as she turned away from him.

"It has been 17 centuries since the battle has been raging. Lord Balance has moved the fight far away from actual lands to save the destruction of it. No greater god will enter the fight himself." she added.

Harry released the illusions holding his appearance. Now he looked almost 18 year older James Potter with Green eyes. He reached her height and was built athletically. He put his hand over her shoulder and turned her to face him. He wasn't sure what to do. But he did as his instinct guided him to do. He looked her in the eyes and said "I will bring back lord Dracula along with Vivian if I can. I will finish my training as soon as I can and then go and help them. I wont let this story end this way."

It was a magical moment in Harry's opinion. They slowly moved closer and their lips met. Her soft deep red lips tentatively resting against his. They ended it there and looked at each other and smiled. There were no fireworks in the background, yet they knew, it was beginning of something new. He had just realized the truth of the world and yet after looking at Sofi and Caly, his resolve could only strengthened.


	22. 22 rebirth

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I never did, I never will! Don't you understand! Why do I even write this (sob) (sob) every time? It is (sob) boring.

**A/N:** Hehehe… Sorry guys, I had a few bumps with the story. I had around 25 chapters written, but a lot of things have changed from what they were going to be to, what they have become, and what they will be in the future. I will try to update a chapter every month, no promises, though. There are a few fillers in this chapter. Well… this chapter is more or less filler. It is also one of the bigger chapters.

**A/N 2: **well... thanks for those that showed me my mistakes. I have cleared them. Hopefully, there isn't any major mistakes left.

**Chapter 22: Rebirth**

End of first year drew ever so closer. He has gained much in this time. He had secured multiple alliances with other houses including Greengrass, Malfoy, Patil, Bones, Abbott, Bell, Moon and many other minor ones. He was trying to get all of the greater bloodlines back together. From there on, he would slowly start bringing other magical creatures together. All powers have always been mixed in all the creatures. It's simply the fact that some show a particular trait more. Humans are no exception.

Throughout the year, he had witnessed how someone could show more than a shade of color at a time. Nat had been a good specimen. All the attempts that Nat made in showing Harry down had backfired, spectacularly.

Hermione Granger made similar attempts, but ultimately failed. She tried to do better at practical but Harry was simply beyond her. She had thought that she could, at-least top the theory. But, all she did was read the books enough times that she could literally remember most of what she read as it was written. But, she still couldn't go beyond what she reads. Her knowledge was limited to the books. She didn't ever try to know the world for why it was as it was. He was sure that the girl was subconsciously using magic to fuel her memory. But she didn't know the long-term effects of this. If she continued to channel magic to her brain this way, her skull would eventually explode. Given how the girl is now, He would give her 7 years at max. There are very few who can treat such things.

Even then, the treatment must be started early; else the treatment would be useless, stall the inevitable for a few months at most. Occlumency gave user an advantage to recollect what they know, but fueling brain with magic to boost its ability to remember everything is disadvantageous. It causes brain to expand far faster with the constant pressure of magic, while Occlumency slowly builds up mind. It leads to what muggles call as brain tumor. Unlike the normal tumor, though, this can't be removed with something like a simple surgical operation. It is a tedious process of slowly releasing the pressure buildup and then removing the tumor. It all must be done while keeping the brain damage as low as possible. So, all in all, he considered her to be a gone case.

He had put the importance of blood in everyone's mind while still assuring them that he had nothing against muggleborns in particular, it was the way they treated the magical world like the muggle one. He had very subtly manipulated them into realizing the truth in his words. Most of them had checked their ancestors and their family history in a new light. They reached the same conclusion, Harry was right, magical abilities have been thinning-out. The simple reason was thinning of magical blood due to marriages with muggles and muggleborns. Katie and the other few Gryffindors that had joined him had been skeptical at first. But, when he showed them all the proofs, they had no other option but to accept his explanation. She had heard the stories of her family being able to pull off illusions of really complex nature. The Lords and Ladies of the House were rumored to put anyone under illusion just by looking at them in the eye.

Halloween and other holidays had gone smoothly. Draco had invited all the members of his group for a party, Halloween ball to be precise. It was actually on behalf of him and Voldemort. They had planned to put a performance in front of the crowd and let them know of what kind of power their leaders held. Voldemort had given him a second in command status. There had been none who questioned Voldemort on this decision. The party was to be held after the ball.

"Everyone is welcome to the party. But know that you will have to take an oath to keep the contents secret." Draco had said.

Most of them had been confused, 'What is actually happening, for an oath to be required?' they thought.

"It's to make sure that the party stays private, security issues, you will know when you come." Draco elaborated.

On the day of the ball, every one of his group was present at the Malfoy manor with their families. They had sworn an oath to keep everything between the people who already knew of it. He danced with Daphne, Astoria, Padma and Parvati. Astoria, he found was very open and energetic compared to her sister's guarded nature. He spoke with their parents as well. He found Lord Patil to be a jovial man. He was easy on eyes, athletically built and always radiating an aura of calmness. But, Harry could see the suppressed magical power in the man. He was a sorcerer. India was a big place for you to grow in magic. Lord Patil was here as an ambassador from Indian magical community. Harry had no idea of what actual powers the Patil bloodline had. 'Perhaps, I will visit India in near future.' Harry mused.

After the ball had ended, they were all escorted to the Malfoy's quidditch pitch. It was turned into a battleground. The field was evened out and the goal loops were removed. They could see transparent barriers surrounding the field, glittering in the moonlight.

Lucius addressed the assembled crowd "I thank you for being here today. I along with a few of my friends have set up an entertainment for you. Please be seated and use the zooming glasses in front of you to follow the duel that is going to take place, trust me, you will need them."

Everyone started to take seats. Harry excused himself and left his friends to grab seats. Most of the children were excited to see a good duel.

Lucius again spoke "Please welcome, Lord Slytherin also known as Lord Voldemort!"

Voldemort rose out of a water pool near the farther end of the field. There was a stunned silence and then people started to clap politely. Voldemort's battle prowess was well known in Europe, and to some extent, Asia.

Lucius then introduced the other duelist "Please welcome, our other duelist, Lord Potter!" Now everyone was simply too stunned just by hearing the name. But they got distracted when winds picked up and a mini cyclone of sort started in the area closer to the stands. Earth beneath the cyclone was being ripped; small rocks were being tossed in the air. The cyclone was grinding against the barrier surrounding the stands. Then suddenly it lit up on fire. An inferno was now raging, slowly it started to shrink, till it started to take form, most of the students recognized Harry as soon as he had taken form.

Finally, with a bang from Lucius' wand, the duel was started. Voldemort started it with throwing ice glaciers at him. Harry countered them with hell-fire. The steam rising was making difficult to see things directly. Most of the guests were using the glasses they were provided with. Both combatants started to run at each other, their speed was more than most of the guest could even keep up. Only the Likes of Lord Patil and Lord Greengrass were able to see. For others, it was like two blurs would suddenly shoot out of one place and collide somewhere in the arena. The guests could see sparks flying, and got a glimpse of swords in hands of both the combatants. With their last clash, their swords were replaced with wands. A dragon made of fire shot at Voldemort, while Voldemort blurred his wand and the atmosphere turned chilling. A huge snake made of ice stopped the dragon in its path. Both attacks started to struggle, the fire diminishing while the snake started to lose mass.

Finally both Harry and Voldemort canceled their attacks and again blurred their hands, harry shot out a high pressured air current at Voldemort who quickly disappeared and reappeared near harry and waved his wand. A torrent blackish liquid spewed from it and tried to drown Harry. Harry quickly turned in that direction and kicked the ground, hard. Multiple slabs of rock rose from the ground and intercepted the attacks. Voldemort again disappeared and appeared far away from harry and started sending blasting and detonating curses at him. Harry started to duck and weave through them at an alarming pace and ease that baffled everyone. His wand elongated and turned into a staff. He started to retaliate with his own attacks. He was sending pure magical blast that detonated as soon as they touched anything.

Seeing that harry was taking things up by a notch, Voldemort also started to add cruciatus and Avada Kedavra in the fray. Harry's friends held their breaths as they watched Harry battle Voldemort on an even ground. They tried to keep track of the battle as much as possible. They couldn't really do so, but they caught the insanely fast moving curses and the blurs that were left by the sorcerers battling.

After another hour of standstill, the match was declared draw, and both Voldemort and Harry gave a bow to the applauding crowed.

When he met his friends back he was greeted with very enthusiastic responses. Blaize, Draco and Tracey congratulated while Daphne simply smiled and gave him a shake of her head in exasperation. She was getting used to his unexpected surprises.

Other than that, everything had gone smoothly in the year.

He had made up his mind that he would be concentrating on his training and not coming back to Hogwarts anytime soon. Thus, he had told the upper years to handle the coming years smoothly and keep the hold of the younger years from other houses as well. He had no intention of working again to build the connections. He was going to be busy.

Soon, the time for final tests came closer. Most of the members of his group were very confident of how they would perform. First was history of magic. It was pathetic how the test revolved only around goblin wars. After that, it was DADA. It wasn't much difficult for any of his group members either. After that was Charms. It was definitely easy for a few. He was the best closely followed by Daphne and Blaize being outstanding in their own rights. Their grasp on this one particular subject was very good. After that came Transfiguration. It was easy as well. In this subject, he was closely followed by Patil twins and Draco. Most of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws did well in potions as well. Once the theory part was over, they were given a break of a day.

During the break, they practiced spells as the next part was theory. Even in Practical sessions, most of them performed as they had expected.

Now it was the final day of his first year.

"What are your plans for summer?" Daphne asked him.

Their group was walking along the edge of the great Lake of Hogwarts. It was calming to say the least. He could even feel like his mother was close by, watching him, smiling at him. The slow and cool winds that blew every once in a while reminded him how she touched him. This is why he usually took strolls along the edges of the Lake.

"I won't be coming for a few years. I have some things to take care-off." He said as he looked over the lake instead of Daphne or anyone else.

Everyone stopped their chatter when they registered his words. They turned to him, well his back as he was ahead of them. He stopped as well. He turned and looked at them. They were looking at him in shock and confusion.

"I… won't be attaining Hogwarts in the near future. But, perhaps, I will join you all back in our sixth or seventh year. During this time, I will be traveling the world." a half-truth. But, it was better than telling them the actual truth. "My teacher wants me to get real experience in combat and also acquire knowledge in several cultures; different ways in which magic can be used in these places and such things." He said.

The reason for him going back was simple; he wanted to see Caly in school when he could. He knew that he was going to be busy and have less and less time for Caly. He wanted to spend it with her as much as possible. By the time his seventh year rolls, he would only be able to meet her at Hogwarts. So, he really hoped to have his training done by that time, else he was going to miss most of her childhood.

Next day all the students from his group gathered and parted into smaller groups. They picked up compartments that were adjacent to each other and got seated in the Hogwarts Express. Most of them chattered throughout the ride to pass the time.

After getting of the train, he met up with parents of most of his acquaintances. Once he had bid good bye to all of them, he turned and found Caly and Sofi standing just behind him. He gave a vibrant smile to his little sister. She had been training with Sofia for a while now, and he was aware of it. He had been to a few of their sessions as well. He had to say that Sofia was far better at teaching than he was. Caly just seemed to understand what Sofia was saying. He could see the happiness in her eyes. He picked her up from ground and said "How is my angle doing now?"

"I am good. How was Hogwarts?" she asked, curiosity.

"Not much, but I did make some acquaintances. I have even made myself as the leader of Slytherin." He said with a smile.

"When will you start teaching me again?" she asked.

"Now, now Caly, let him at-least get back to our manor, eh?" an amused Sofi said.

"Okay! Let's go back home." She said excitedly.

'Finally, I won't have to endure Lily's stupid acts of reconciliation.' thought the six year old.

After getting back home, he had immediately gotten back to his room. He had been early as he had no reason to stop unlike Nat, who was busy in interviewing with media. After getting freshened up, he talked with Caly and Sofi for a while and finally fell asleep.

He had to now break the fact to Caly that he would be going with Sofi for an indefinite time frame. He decided that it was time to get Mysti acquainted with Caly on a more formal basis. He would come and visit her every once in a while though.

A week later..

Harry had decided to wait out before telling Caly about him leaving. He had spoken with Mysti and introduced her with Sofi and Caly. Sofi had been quite skeptical to trust Mysti, but after knowing that she had raised Harry since he was a child, she eased a bit. Though, she had been mad at him for keeping such a secret from her, and she had made it known in one of their spars in the forest. Caly on the other hand had been ecstatic to know that she had a sister, a sister that was older even than Harry.

It had been difficult to convince Mysti to reveal herself to anyone. She had been comfortable with Sofi as Sofi was also close to the old world. She had to get permission from her family first to reveal herself to Caly. But, at the end, she had. She had grown in age as well. Every time he met her, she had changed. Her beauty had been enhanced even further. He could honestly say that the only ones who could compare to her were his mother, sisters and Sofi. Her dark blue eyes were so intense; they glowed every time she spoke.

'Or, perhaps, it was a trick that my eyes played on me.' He thought.

His musings were interrupted by Sofi, as she put an arm around his shoulder. He smiled at her. They had become comfortable with each other, comfortable enough that a little show of affection here, a kiss there; it was a normal thing now.

"It's time for us to leave." She said.

"Indeed… Indeed it is." He said with a long drawn out sigh.

"Come-now, we shall see her every-once-in-a-while." She said, trying to console him.

"I know, still, I hoped, we could take her with us." Harry said.

"Yet, we can't, not yet. Perhaps, we never may. It is too dangerous for her there, we both know it." She again reasoned.

"But, that is not enough for a child to understand. I already had left her once." He said.

"You could say that it's like school. You will meet her anyway." She said.

"Perhaps, but I would rather not deceive her. She understands me." he again spoke.

Sometime later….

"I must leave now, Caly. I shall come and meet you, though." Harry said to his sister.

"When will you come back?" Caly asked, not crying at all.

"Would twice a month work for you?" Harry asked.

"Okay. But, you promise to come, right?" she again asked, knowing that he won't break a promise given to her.

"Promise, kiddo." He said as he ruffled her hair.

"And Mysti will be here with you, sometimes." He added as an afterthought.

"Okay." She said as she hugged him tightly.

"Bye, Caly, take care." He said as she let go of him.

Harry took Sofi's hand in his and they slowly dissolved into the surrounding shadows. Caly took off towards Harry's bookshelf to start reading and learning.

When Harry and Sofi reappeared, they were in front of a huge castle. The place was cold, cold enough to freeze, not them, of-course. It was on a top of a hill. He could feel the strong wards surrounding this place. He could only imagine what kind of power the person applying them had. They were strong enough to keep even his sisters away for a while. These wards had a presence of their own. A dark, looming, and enticing feeling that harry could really get used to. The small light shown on the castle by the twinkling stars only served to give the castle a mysterious feeling. He was brought out of his musings when Sofi took his hand in hers and started to walk forwards. The gate was guarded by two gargoyles.

'Possibly fed and created with blood-magic.' Harry though after noting the dark red pools in their eye sockets.

As the gates were opened, he was surprised when the wards didn't repulse him at all. He looked at Sofi with a question in his eyes.

"You are expected by Lord Dracula. Father would be present as well." She answered his unasked question.

As they traveled to the large double-doors of the castle, he was sure that he saw glimpses of lethifolds wandering or looking at him. It didn't bother him, but definitely surprised him. When they reached the silver and black colored doors, he couldn't help but chuckle at the decorations on the doors. They had a medium sized skull of a dragon on them. The door-knob was made of a young basilisk's head. When they were around a meter away from the doors, the doors swung open without a single noise. Inside was completely dark. Yet, he could see through the pitch black room clearly.

As soon as he stepped inside, he was hit with a powerful blast of aura. It tried to intimidate him. But, he was not a novice; he had endured it against both Lord Corvun and Sofi. He could easily stand against this one, as it was far less. He made his own presence known by releasing his aura, enough that it would dwarf the one already being released. To his surprise, the opposing pressure of aura increased many folds. He had been walking when he had felt the aura and released his own. He almost stumbled but caught himself before even Sofi would catch on it. He further released his own aura and fought for dominance with the one being released against him. He felt Sofi's hold on him tighten, just slightly. He could feel her tensing. It was more than what she was used to. Soon enough she started to relax, though the oppressing pressure from both Harry and the unknown source was still increasing. He felt the pressure shift as shadows came alive and dived at him. He halted them with his will alone. But, it was taking a lot of concentration. It was clear to him now what exactly was going on. Lord Dracula wanted to test his strength, at least in their shared power. He wasn't sure, though, if it was to see his worth to court Sofi, or, to see if he was good enough to be an apprentice. He suddenly felt the pressure subsiding and he himself let his own aura retreat.

Bu this time, they had already reached the throne. Sofi let go of his hand and gave a bow to the two people seated.

He looked at both of them. He already knew Lord Corvun as he had met the man before. Lord Corvun still looked the same, 'perhaps, he had a haircut?' Harry mused. As the only change he could see was the shorter hair.

The other man was heavy and built with muscles. It looked like Lord Dracula was made by putting blocks of muscles together. Harry would have to guess that he was at least 6 ft. tall, his skin, reddish-brown. Dracula had his right hand under his chin, and looked at him in boredom. But, Harry could see the sharp and calculating eyes, eyes that showed knowledge beyond many eras. Unexpectedly, all the candles in the room, started to get lit. Harry saw Lord Dracula's narrowed gaze on him. But, before he could say anything, a shadowy figure materialized on his shoulder.

'hmm… you forgot to call me to this meeting, young one.' Harry heard a voice in his head.

He already knew who this was. 'Sorry, I didn't think you would come just for some formal meeting with my fiancé's ancestor.' Harry replied.

'hmhmhm… And Why wouldn't I?' Braiden asked.

'It has been long, father. Didn't expect you bonding with a child.' Dracula thought to Braiden.

'Indeed, son. It has been so long since we last met. But, that aside, this young man is quite powerful, you would be surprised. The strings of fate that bind him are very thick.' Braiden spoke directly to Dracula. No one could hear what was being said between Braiden and Dracula.

'Ah, is that so?' Dracula replied as his blood red pupils expanded and covered his entire eye. They were now two pools of blood. It turned back as soon as it had happened.

'Yet, the weave seems to be undoing. Fate is losing its hold on him. How interesting. Not even my descendants are out of fate's hands.' Dracula replied.

'I am certain that you would like to know the reason, would you not?' Braiden asked amusement evident in his thoughts.

'Indeed, who is the reason?' Dracula asked, his eyes narrowed as h thought of a possibility.

'His mother is none other than the Fae queen herself.' Braiden replied.

"What!" Dracula suddenly stood up and disappeared to appear trying to grab Harry. Harry immediately vanished from his position and appeared next to Marcel. Dracula narrowed his eyes as he looked at Harry and snarled. His face twisted as his jaw widened and his fangs elongated and became visible.

"What is happening? Why are you attacking me Lord Dracula? Answer me before I take it the wrong way." Harry demanded. His aura flaring back and the magic of Summer and Winter flared in his right hand. He felt a twinge on his left palm, but he ignored it.

'Calm down, both of you!' both Harry and Dracula heard. It was Braiden and he was not kidding. Thinking better than to defying Braiden, harry and Dracula slowly calmed down. Harry again appeared near Sofi who had fallen when trying to avoid Dracula's grasp. Harry gently took her hand and helped her stand up.

"Now, is anyone going to tell me?" Harry whispered.

'Calm down Harry. As I don't think Dracula is going to answer your question, I shall tell you. Dracula had a few scuffles with your mother, Melenda. He lost, badly, every time.' Braiden spoke amused by Harry's actions.

'He was falling for her, but she didn't seem to have any such notion, and you being her son perhaps sent him over the edge.' Braiden added.

'Dracula…. My mother, you're kidding, right? Even he would be just a child in her eyes!' Harry exclaimed in his thoughts.

'Then again, it's like me and Sofi in so many ways.' He thought to himself.

'Indeed…she actually scolded him for trying to hit on someone his many times grandmother's age.' Braiden said. Now even Harry could see how hilarious it was and he was struggling to contain his laughter.

Suddenly he thought 'Shit! I have yet to tell Sofi about her.'

Dracula's left eye twitched as he saw the expression on Harry's face. He knew that Braiden must have told Harry about his secret crush, not that it still remained. He saw the sudden change in expression on Harry's face when Harry took a glance at Sofi. Dracula could only guess that Harry had yet to tell Sofi about Melenda.

"Well, I can understand where you come from, Lord Dracula." Harry said with a bit of teasing in his tone.

Dracula's eye twitched as he spoke "Shut up boy! Take a seat. We will get started with the meeting."

For the next two hours they discussed about how his training would be for the rest of the time till he completes it. They were going to push him to his limits. The ultimate test of his training would be when he would be fighting alongside Dracula against the demigods. Dracula needed rest after fighting continuously for three centuries. He needed to be fed as well. Going without blood for so long would have killed almost any other vampire, not Dracula though. He was the first, and had control over his every fiber, every emotion.

**[THERE IS A BIG TIME-SKIP HERE. THE TIME-SKIP IS OF FOUR AND A HALF YEAR. HARRY IS GROWN UP AND BADASS]**

Harry had surpassed all the expectations he had for himself. Dracula had pushed him to and beyond his limits. He was almost an equal to Dracula after his gruesome training. It had not been a walk in the park to say the least. He had bled and bled until he ran dry. He was forced to keep fighting until he couldn't walk. Every session lasted for at least two weeks straight. He had never thought he could go on for that long without food or anything. Their last session lasted for 4 months 20 days and 22 hrs. It was the longest and the bloodiest session he had to go through. He used almost every trick up his sleeve. Even the super human speed he was so proud of was naught against a foe like Dracula.

Dracula had definitely surprised him with his speed. He never imagined that a heavily build man like Dracula could be that fast. During his training he had found out that Dracula had instant regenerative powers and was a shape-shifter. He could change any part of his body. Blacks had gotten the metamorphmagus ability from one of the lower level female vampire, which was passed down from him.

By fighting Dracula he had almost tripled in his speed. His raw potential had increased to unimaginable levels. It had grown so much that any growth now seemed nothing. The initial growth was exponential while later it became like a small trickle of water in a river. His body was at its peak condition. Even though he was just a 14 year old, he looked around his mid-twenties. His body had grown in muscle yet retained its lean build. He stood 5 ft. and 11 inches. His face still retained the roguish looks of James Potter. Sofi had many times said that he looked handsome when he bled.

'Then again, blood just seems to turn her horny.' Harry thought amused.

He had progressed in his relationship with Sofi as well. From a few stolen kisses in between the sessions, they now shared a few good hours of snogging. Every time he came back out of a session, he was taken by Sofi, bridal style and taken to their room in the castle. She would clean him of all the blood and sweat. Then she would heal his injuries. Her blood, like Dracula's, had regenerative abilities. She would help heal him faster. He barely got 2 or 3 days for recovery. In this time, he also had to meet Caly; he couldn't let her think he had forgotten her. He had told her that his training was getting even more intense than it was before and he would visit her less frequently. Caly had surprisingly said that she would wait till his training completed and them show him what Mysti taught her. That didn't mean that he forgot her birthday. He had given her an advance gift every year, knowing that he was likely to miss her birthday. She had sent him birthday presents by Mysti who was shown his new residence. It had been amusing when she had popped up while Lord Dracula was changing clothes. From there on she had started to come through the doors instead of popping in.

The most dangerous art he had mastered till date was combining his animagus forms. That had taken a lot out of him. He had been bedridden for two whole weeks. Now his animagus form looked something akin to a monster out of muggle movie. The closest resemblance he had with anything was a Wrym. He had two huge wings sprouting out of his shoulder blades. His height increased to around nine ft tall. His wings were draconic but completely dark, dark as the night itself. His face resembled a Nundu. His hands were clawed like Braiden's legs. His legs were draconic and powerful. His complete body was covered with a dark metallic substance. His first transformation was not good. He had attacked Dracula and had his ass handed to him. Dracula had transformed in one of his forms as well. It resembled a lethifolds in many ways. But it was powerful, very much so. From then on, they fought with their transformed states as well.

He came out of his thoughts as he looked back at Dracula and gave a small nod. He was done with his training. With a though he called forth Braiden and vanished.

When he appeared, he was in the middle of great hall. It was brimming with hungry students. The first thing he noted was the staff table. He found Lily and James sitting there.

'So, they are teaching now?' he thought.

Then his gaze swept past Dumbledore. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments, Dumbledore tried to send a probe in his mind, Harry held it in place and entered Dumbledore's mind. He saw all the dark past that Dumbledore had hidden. He saw how Ariana, Dumbledore's sister was killed. He saw how Dumbledore and Grindelwald befriended. He retreated from Dumbledore's mind and saw the shocked and pale face of Dumbledore. He swept his gaze past Dumbledore and looked at Snape and McGonagall. He also saw Flitwick. Then his gaze flicked to the student body. He saw Caly looking at him with a broad smile. She was about to sit with the Gryffindors.

'No doubt, it was James who made her sit there.' He thought. He knew that he had no need to check Caly's mind as she already had Mysti looking after her. He smiled at her as Braiden vanished off his shoulder. He opened his arms for her. She quickly swept past the students and hugged him. He heard clapping noise coming from the Slytherin end of the hall as he put a small kiss on top of Caly's head. He knew that there had been uproar in the country when he had vanished. He was known as a boy prodigy after all. Even most of the staff at Hogwarts, including Snape had helped search him. They had found nothing. Caly had not given them any answers either. During his absence, the fact that he was neglected had come out in public. Caly had been very cunning while putting such things out to the media. She had told Rita Skitter that she was taken care of by her brother Harry who suddenly vanished and now she had no one left with her. When asked, what of her family, she had stated that her only family was her brother as he had been with her every step of her life. She had even said that Harry had told her sad stories of how he was never looked after. From there on, Potter family had been under tight scrutiny. Luckily, neither James nor Lily had tried to take that out on her.

'If they had, I would have killed them. No questions asked.' Harry thought. He was brought out of his musings when he started to hear footsteps. He turned and looked at the approaching professors. They had their wands raised, except for Lily. Even the Gryffindor students had their wands pointed at him.

"I- is that you, Harry?" Lily asked.

"No, I am Dracula. What do you think?" he responded.

"Harry… I am so sorry, so so sorry. Please forgive me." Lily spoke. Her face was stricken with tears. James was holding her with one hand while holding his wand with the other.

"Oh! Okay." Harry said.

"W- what, you forgive us? Just like that?" Lily asked, confused with a little hope rising in her heart.

"Well, if you hadn't treated me like a shadow, I would never have met my mother, so yeah, I do." Harry said with a smile.

It confused others even more. What was he talking about? What did he mean by his mother? Wasn't Lily supposed to be his mother? These were the general thoughts among the older students that knew him.

When Lily registered his words, she let out a sob. She asked with unsteady voice "Wha – what do you mean?"

Harry dramatically sighed as he looked at them. He said "Are you deaf woman? Didn't you hear what I said? I have a mother that loved me since I was young. It is because of you and that is why I don't care what happens with you. If I had not had my mother – " The temperature suddenly decreased. Everyone except Caly felt the Chill.

"- then I would have killed both you and James. Parents like you don't deserve to live." Harry said. His tone had turned utterly cold, unforgiving.

The temperature just as suddenly became normal. Everyone let out a gasp as they heard what he said.

"I am disappointed in you Mr. Potter. I expected better from you." Dumbledore said while shaking his head.

"Well, then it's good that I don't care for your opinion, eh?" harry said.

"And, at least, I am not killing my sister, am I?" harry said while putting extra stress on sister.

Albus' face lost his color at the implications. He had felt his mind being invaded. Despite his best efforts, he had failed to stop the invasion. He hadn't even been able to look away from Harry's eyes. The glint in Harry's eyes told him that harry had seen it all.

"He should be arrested; he just now threatened my family." Nat yelled from the Gryffindor table.

"Indeed, we need to see if you are a threat to the school or not Mr. Potter. Please come with us to my office. And we won't have to use force." Dumbledore spoke.

Harry laughed and said "Just like you were to your family, eh Albus?"

Dumbledore lost his cool in a rare show of rage.

A silent curse shot out of the death stick and hit harry. But, against everyone's expectations, it didn't do anything at all. It splashed against him harmlessly. Harry had already become immune to most low and mild level magical spells. Stunning, capturing or such spells didn't even affect him. He was able to disperse them without even lifting a finger. He could have easily drawn his wand and retaliated, but he wanted to make Dumbledore loose face and beat the old goat badly.

"It seems that the wand recognizes its true master, don't you think?" Harry said and suddenly vanished. He appeared in front of Dumbledore in less than a fraction of a second. He punched Dumbledore hard in the gut and took the wand.

As soon as he touched the wand, a black blur shot out of it and the wand crumbled to dust. The black blur turned out to be a miasma of dark crackling energy. Harry raised his own staff and watched as the blur entered his staff. His staff took a whitish color. He could feel the newfound power in his staff.

Everyone watched in awe as Harry took down Dumbledore in less than under a minute. Dumbledore looked at Harry, shocked that his wand was broken and destroyed. He looked at Harry with a hint of fear as knew; he couldn't beat Harry without the death-stick. He was already outmatched because of Braiden, now; Harry was simply out of his league.

Dumbledore calmed down and again plastered the same fake smile on his face. "Past is in the past, Mr. Potter. We should strive to better our future." Dumbledore said.

"But, what would a future bring, if we destroyed our present?" Harry said.

"Where have you been for the past 4 and half year Mr. Potter? Your family has been worried for you." Dumbledore said disappointment apparent in his voice.

"I doubt that. My family has always known my location." Harry replied.

"But, Lily and James didn't know where you were." Dumbledore said, trying to make Harry call them parents.

"Ah, I almost forgot!" Harry suddenly exclaimed.

He then said that shocked most to their core. No one expected him to do what he did.

"I, Lord Harrison James Potter, deem James Potter and Nathan Potter unworthy of House Potter.

Let the magic of the old rise-

Answer my summon-

Judge thy worth-

Rip what was given.

Spirit of magic –I summon thee!"

A translucent violet shield had surrounded both Nat and James while Harry spoke. Dumbledore and other Professors tried to stop harry but before they could do anything, a shield of transparent dark purple surrounded him. All the spells that were thrown at him by most of the professors and some of the Gryffindors had splashed against the shield harmlessly. A bright flash occurred. It was followed by screams that rose out of both Nat and James. Everyone stared at a smirking Harry and then the writhing James and Nat that lay sprawled on the floor. Most of the pureblood and halfbloods were aware of what just happened. It was a barbaric way of removing someone from your family. Once removed, they can't be brought back. It ripped of the family magic and all the traits of the family that were in the person. But, it didn't happen often. Most of the times, the shaming family members were just exiled.

Dumbledore watched in abject horror as harry removed both James and Nat from the family. After this removal, Nat would be left as just an above average wizard.

'How is Nat supposed to Defeat Voldemort?' he frantically thought.

He again looked at Nat and James, and then he looked at Harry. Slowly everything started to click in his mind.

'Betrayed by his own – his own parents neglected him;

Powerful than any other – he beat me without any difficulty;

Born as the seventh month dies – he was born on the same day;

Born to the lines of greater lords – as of now the only one that fits the criteria; great merlin! What have I done?' Albus thought as he understood who the true prophesied one was.

Of-course, Albus knew that the only chance to reconcile and have Harry on his side was by somehow luring Caly to his side. Using mind magic was not an option. Harry had breezed through his shields like they didn't exist. He would have to show the girl all that 'light' had to offer and pray that she could be brought to their side.

He was once again brought to reality by Lily's sobs. He saw both McGonagall and Lily bent over James' form while Poppy tried to stabilize Nat. he could only see amusement in Harry's eyes while Caly had a somewhat bored and indifferent look.

Harry swept his gaze over all the Gryffindors. Most of them didn't look him in the eye, those who did flinched back in fear.

Three days later….

As the Heir of Gryffindor, Harry didn't need to be admitted in Hogwarts to come into the castle. He was able to come and go as he pleased. He was able to take stock of what had happened in his absence. He was pleased to know that their small group of a few other house' students had turned into a separate extra class of its own. Students from his year had formed a study session come classes. Most of the upper years had supported the idea and had helped organize everything. They still had only a handful of Gryffindors though. He was planning on changing the admitting system of Hogwarts. There were so many dumb ones, 'muggle-minded' ones that he would have to make changes to the system. He would have to stop muggleborns getting admitted in Hogwarts, he didn't want to hold back others for some slow learners. There were some smaller magical institutes that specifically took in muggleborns and very poor, and orphaned magical children. He would have to introduce a magical orphanage for magical children in Magical England, and so many other things. He lacked time though. He was going to visit his acquaintances from his first year. It would be between him and most of the current Lord, Ladies and Heirs. He was going to propose a few plans that he wanted to be set in motion before he left Hogwarts this time. They were mostly concerning the orphanage that most of the others wouldn't mind helping him set up. He had already given them a rough idea of what he wanted.

With a tired sigh he went to sleep. His room was well warded against anything that may try to get in, so he wasn't worried.

His eyes opened as he saw his mother smiling at him. He smiled back at her.

"It's time, my Harry." She said. Her voice was still as gentle as he remembered it being.

"Time, for what?" he asked, confused and unaware of what she meant.

There was a glint of evil and mischievousness in her eyes. It promised pain. He tried to think of what he may have messed that his mother was angry at him and going to hurt him.

"It's time, time for you to truly be born… It's finally time for your rebirth." She said.

He looked at her, even more confused.

"I don't understand, what do you mea – AHHHH!" he suddenly started to scream. His whole bod started to explode with power.

In Hogwarts…

Everyone was woken up by a scream. What was more frightening was the fact that it came from Harry's suit. The protections that surrounded the inside were withering faster and faster. Most of the Slytherin were there and professors followed suit. Dumbledore desperately tried to make a way inside the door. He couldn't get access. The door and the walls kept glowing as more and more magic was being released. A trill sounded as they looked up. Braiden had arrived. As soon as he looked at the room he transported inside with a wailing Caly. Braiden put up a barrier that secured Caly and contained the explosion within the room. Caly saw as her brother slowly dissolved into green mist of magic and started to disperse.

Even in his state of pain, Harry registered the fact that Caly was there in the room. He tried to smile, but couldn't. He spoke in a hoarse voice "I – I sh – shall come, d – do – don't cry."

Slowly, but surely everything calmed down. Harry was completely gone, sucked into nothingness like he never was, there was no existence of him.

At the gates of Hogwarts when Harry had started to scream…

Sofi appeared on the grounds of Hogwarts when she felt Harry's distress and pain, Harry never screamed, she knew. She looked frantically and tried to locate him. She easily heard the scream coming and Bat like wings protruded from her back, her fangs elongated and hands turned into claws. She took off and stood on the window sill the next instant. She broke the window and entered. She scanned the area with her blood red eyes that eerily glowed. She snarled as she saw a group of wizards surrounding a door that the screams were coming from. She started tossing them out of her way as she made it to the front, leaving broken older male and female students in her wake. All the professors looked at her in fright. They started to fire spells at her that simply didn't affect her or she outright ignored them.

She looked at Dumbledore and asked "Where is harry?"

Dumbledore was speechless to see a vampire enter Hogwarts so casually and then ask for Harry of all people.

He readied his wand on her, wary after yesterday.

"He is inside the room, but we can't get in." he said, deciding to be truthful for once and perhaps save the ire of an irate female Vampire that may destroy the castle.

She seemed to be calming down as her wings retracted back into her shoulder-blades, her face once again took its beautiful form, but the eyes remained blood red.

"What is happening, who has done this?" she demanded in an angry tone.

"W – we don't know. His familiar and sister have just gone inside." She heard and looked at the speaker. It was Daphne, one of Harry's close acquaintances, almost friend, she was aware.

Instead of asking another question, Sofi decided to simply take the answers that she needed. She dived in the minds of a few professors and Daphne at the same time. She found that no one was aware of the situation. She tried to get inside the door, through the walls, but nothing worked. She sighed in frustration and decided to wait like others were. She could still hear Harry screaming. It frustrated her to no end that she could not do anything while he was obviously in intense pain.

"Wh – Who are you, miss?" She heard.

Instead of being asked the same question repeatedly by many and losing herself to her instinct to just kill them, she opted to answer.

"I am Harry's fiancé, no one enters the room before I say, or I shall kill them, as simple as that." She said. Everyone gasped as there was a blast of malicious aura from her that screamed of blood. No-one spoke after that, all the professors on edge by her presence.

Lily was sobbing again, and glanced at Sofi every now and then. She had been Happy that Nat and James were alive and would be back to perfect health soon. The only loss was their magical potential. But again she had to hear screams coming from her Harry's room. She came to know that something was wrong, Harry was screaming and Braiden had taken her Caly inside the room.

With Harry…

By the time his pain subsided, he felt himself floating. He felt like he was a mist. He felt that he was a mist that was being sucked inside something. Then everything went blank.

Unknown time later…

A chubby newborn opened its eyes….


	23. 23 growing up again

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I never did, I never will! Don't you understand! Why do I even write this (sob) (sob) every time? It is (sob) so boring.

**A/N:** Harry will be referred as Shadic from here on. Remember the name that Melenda gave him? And also I would like to explain what exactly happened with the rebirth part…

Kidding you'll have to wait and see. It will be fully explained either during this chapter or the coming ones. Chapters from here on might turn a bit graphic though, not sure of this chapter itself.

I am not so sure what to do after this chapter. I am putting a poll now on my profile. A few coming chapters are gonna explain Shadic's training. He will be doing training in different worlds. What I want to know is, should I do separate chapters and in more details, or do you want me to jam all that in 1 or 2 chapters? I would personally like to make different chapters, so that it would be easy to understand. His rebirth would be explained after or during one of these chapters.

I'll keep the poll for a month. Also, if we are doing several chapters for the crossover and completely AU worlds, should I simply end this part of the story and start a sequel? Please leave reviews and tell me about your opinions.

Enjoy the chapter now! (Though, I didn't write much as I was confused)

**Chapter 23: Growing up once more**

A small child started to cry. It had a mop of small black hair on its head. As it started to cry, its hair color changed. It flickered between purple and forest green.

"Oh my dear child, why do you cry?" it heard an angelic voice and immediately stopped crying. The small child opened its tiny eyes to reveal a pair of glowing sapphire green orbs. It let out a small squeal of joy that sounded more like gurgling as a very beautiful female figure got closer to it. She was an epitome of feminine beauty. She had snowy-white skin, long purple hair that reached her lower back, an eternal glow that she somehow emitted. Everything about her was beyond what we would define as perfect. Her purple eyes had such depth that you would be enticed in them. But, if one was observant enough, they could see power, power beyond their imagination. She wore a light red dress that reached up to her ankles. The part of the dress below her waist was loose compared to the upper half. It gave her enough room to freely move. She was none other than the fey queen, Melenda.

She gently picked up the small child and brought it closer to her. She slowly started to giggle as she felt the baby slowly struggle in the cloth that it was in. she hummed a tune that she loved. It was one that she had created. She was one of the oldest beings of the universe; older than the planets, older than the time itself when the mortal life came to be. This tune resonated with her very being. It seemed the child also liked it.

Some months later…

"Today we are going to learn how to fly, doesn't that sound great, Shadic?" a melodious voice said.

In response, a small boy of hardly 10 months old clapped its hands and giggled excitedly.

"fy, fy, fy." It started to chant in excitement.

A set of deep purple eyes locked onto the child in amusement. The figure was Melenda. She laughed; her laughter tinkling, enticing and amused.

She picked up the child and said "Aren't you an eager one, my Shadic." Harry again giggled and grabbed on her purple hair that shined in rainbow colors and enticed little Shadic even further with her. Melenda ruffled his hair with one hand as she held him on her hip with the other.

In Hogwarts, when Harry vanished….

As soon as the screams stopped, Sofi felt the shift of magic as Braiden released the barrier surrounding the room. She turned to others and hissed out "Do. Not. Enter."

With her warning given, Sofi opened the door by simply commanding the magic and stepped inside the room. She closed the door in same way. She saw Caly crying on Harry's bed. Braiden was there as well, perched on the headboard of Harry's bed. She looked around for Harry, but couldn't find him.

"What happened? Where is Harry?" she asked, hoping they would give her at least some answer.

"He is gone." Caly whispered and started to cry even more.

Sofi hugged her and started to run circles with her finger on the younger girl's back. Soon enough, Caly calmed down.

"What exactly happened? Please tell me what has happened to Harry." Sofi said, barely containing her anger at the whole situation and her concern for Harry.

"He vanished." Caly said.

"He-he was vaporizing; bit-by-bit, every part of his body turned into green mist. He was in so much pain." Caly added as she recalled the incident. Her eyes again moistened.

"He said he would come back though." She said at the end.

"What do you mean?" Sofi asked as her hopes grew just a bit.

"He said that when he was about to completely vanish. I-I don't know what would happen now though."

After a sometime, Caly finally fell asleep. Sofi was going to leave when, there was a shift in the magic as a tear appeared and suddenly there was Mysti standing in front of her.

"Where is Harry? I felt a backlash of magic. I can still feel him, but can't reach him." Mysti inquired. There was urgency in her voice and madness in her eyes that belied her calm and easygoing nature. It was easy for Sofi to pick on the changes. In some way, Mysti had failed to keep the pact between the elven family and Potter family, it was affecting her psyche, and it was hard to miss.

Her thoughts were cut short by Braiden who had been silent till now.

"What do you know... about the fae queen."

Back with Harry (Shadic)….

A few years later….

He was four and a half year old. Flying and playing with his mother was his favorite pastime. And if he ever got bored of these things, he could play with their pets that were in the castle. His mother always told him stories of old world, stories of angels and demons. He liked them a lot. There were so many things in them that inspired him. What she told wasn't just words; she wove magic like nothing he could believe. She spurred illusions to make her stories come to life. He was awed by the sheer beauty and glory of the battles that she painted for him. She had just finished one of her stories.

Finally Melenda said "You are one of them, and yet you are different."

Curious about why and how so, he asked "How am I different, mother?"

She said "You are one of a kind my Shadic. You are the first fey to have born instead of being created."

She said "We are fae, different than both angels and demons. We were created along with the other two races. But, the major difference in our creation was not the appearance, but our purpose. We Fae had no true goal so to speak of. We were created simply to do what we most pleased in. Our nature was defined as playful and chaotic. We have power to change events by traveling back in time. We were made to cause chaos and bring order in the world. I was the first of my kind. There were some others, but they were simply to help me out. Later I created others to do my work. I came into seclusion, bored of the mortal world. I slumbered for many millennia."

She looked at him and smiled.

"How can we bring order by creating chaos? Are they not opposites?" He asked, confused and again curious.

She lifted him and put him on her lap as she giggled. "My… You have such a curious mind don't you, my Shadic?"

She again giggled and ran her hand through his hair.

She hummed and said "When either demons or angels are gaining too much of ground, we cause chaos for them; which, sometimes results in us directly helping the ones on losing end. This brings balance in the world. And this balance then helps in establishing order."

"Oh." Shadic said.

She again giggled as she ruffled his hair…

3 years later….

He was seven years old. His mother had said that they could start on his training in his powers soon. But, first he would have to get used to using the amount of power he had. He would have to learn how to control it. She had started to teach him in utilizing his powers, but the growth was slow. He knew the basics of what he had to know.

To help him with this, he was going into another world with his mother. It was not one of the main worlds; it was a part of the multiverse for one of them.

"Are you ready for the travel, my child?"

He was. He knew it. His mother had prepared his mind to take the load of information that would suddenly assault him when he reached another world. It would give him a headache; the early preparation would save him from falling unconscious. The information was the instinctual knowledge of that world. As one of the races from the old world, he could speak any tongue that rose after their own, be it human, creature, animal… they could understand and speak it. Most fae that were created had such information already planted and were able to easily handle any changes as they were already given the knowledge and proper psyche to adjust to them. But, he was not created, he was born. Thus, he had to be taught everything. His mother had taught him how to control his mind. She told him that there were people who could get inside his head, and thus he had to learn how to defend against them. He was trained enough to hold off any attempt from his mother for at least around two minutes. Which she said was more than enough, at least as long as he didn't look into eyes of a higher demon or an angel who was as powerful as her.

"Yes. I am." He said.

Melenda smiled at him. She took his hand in her own, and they disappeared out of the castle that they had lived in for so long…

X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X – X– X – X – X – X

**Post chapter A/N:** Okay. I'll again repeat the A/N. those who have read it don't need to read it again.

I am not so sure what to do from here on. I am putting a poll now on my profile. A few coming chapters are gonna explain Shadic's training. He will be doing training in different worlds. What I want to know is, should I do separate chapters and in more details, or do you want me to jam all that in 1 or 2 chapters? I would personally like to make different chapters, so that it would be easy to understand. His rebirth would be explained after or during one of these chapters.

I'll keep the poll for a month. Also, if we are doing several chapters for the crossover and completely AU worlds, should I simply end this part of the story and start a sequel? Please leave reviews and tell me about your opinions.


	24. AN: sequel notice

**A/N 1:** Sorry to disappoint you guys, but this is not a chapter. It is just an A/N. Now, DON'T stop reading just because its an A/N please read it, its important.

**A/N 2:** Now to begin the original A/N... polls are all done with.

I will soon start posting new story... the sequel. Harry will be grown up. I will begin with the end of his journey. I kinda started writing it first. So wait a bit for it.

Name of the sequel is 'A journey's end'. it will come in several chapters. after that I will bring back the other world journeys in flashbacks or something.

Good day!


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